Collision
by markofthemoros
Summary: So camping sucks when one of the party is badly injured and other two are at each other's throats. At the swamps of Cartanica mines, Noctis makes a grave mistake. Contains spoilers starting Chapter 9 of the game, and strong language, but it's not too graphic.
1. Chapter 1

**(F)AN: First of all, thank you so much, Elillierose, for beta reading this! I'll owe you.**

 **I'm back with another FFXV piece, guys! I can't help it. Lol, since the game launched, I've been like, "Put my life on hold, I wanna play FFXV!" It's gonna be a multi-chapter thingy, taking place in the Cartanica mines where the boys have a little bit of bad blood going on. It's again heavy on the feels side. I hope you like it. Feel free to give me a holler about whatever. ^^**

 **WARNING! SPOILERS starting Chapter 9 of the game. This is pretty much in canon, so if you haven't reached that part of the game yet and don't wanna be spoiled, I'd definitely recommend reading this after you've passed that mark. You'll understand why once you're there.**

 **Now, let's mosey.**

 **EDIT: It only occurred to me after posting, but you should totally listen to Dynazty's amazing track Human Paradox as you're reading this! That's it! I'm officially naming it the theme of this fic.**

* * *

 _Welcome to my attraction_

 _One step in the wrong direction_

 _One choice, is all you have to make_

 _One ride and the world is ours to take_

 _You're treading a thin red line_

 _When you're trying to read my mind_

 _In here, the world ain't black or white_

 _No rules apply, no wrongs or rights_

 _. ._

 _Can you really tell me what is right or wrong_

 _When they're two sides of the same coin_

 _Viewed in different ways_

 _The Human Paradox_

 _Step right into pandemonium_

 _Welcome to my delirium_

 _My Human Paradox_

 _The Human Paradox_

~ Dynazty - Human Paradox

.

.

.

'No wonder they deserted this place,' Noctis thought as he eyed the landscape. What had looked like a wasteland from above surely did disappoint him further as they descended down below. What greatness the Cartanica mines once had, it was but a long-faded memory. Where the base rock hadn't been licked bare by the desert gales, disgusting stale waters formed huge swamps. The rot and the algae concocted a musty reek over the area. It was making his head hurt.

Swallowing thick, he glanced at the sky. The sun was already low. Even if they found the damn tomb right this instant – which he thought, with a small grimace, was less than likely – they'd still have to spend the night camping outdoors. That idea really didn't appeal to him. And not just because of the grim-looking land. Noctis hadn't wanted to take any unnecessary risks, because…

"Hey, is it really that difficult for your high and mighty ass to get that not all of us can keep up with you?!"

Noctis' temper flared at Gladiolus' bark. The man's mere voice frustrated him. As if he didn't know that! He turned to snap something back at the brute, but it caught into his throat as he saw Ignis on the ground, scampering back onto his feet, Prompto supporting him the best he could. Guilt banged at his heart, and suddenly he had nothing to say.

Not daring to look at Gladio, Noctis simply swallowed it and trotted backwards to wait for Ignis to scale the rock at his own pace. And that was already more than he could have asked of him right now. 'Dammit, Ignis!' he thought with regret. 'I told you to stay behind for this!'

His stick caught into rubble stone, and with a pained grunt Noctis didn't want to hear Ignis lost his footing again.

"Iggy! Here, let me..." Prompto consoled him gently as he helped him up. Noctis could only watch them, stupefied and disbelieving.

"Don't be silly. There is no need," Ignis stated sternly as he gently pushed away Prompto's arm, standing precariously.

"Don't be an idiot," Gladio grunted as he, too, joined to help the strategist up the steep." Don't try and overdo it."

"I'm not a cripple."

"You're blind!"

The sole indication of Ignis' anger was the slight reddening of his cheeks and the steepening frown. "That I would consider to be my concern." Ignis' tone was icy.

"Um, guys–" Prompto started, but Gladiolus cut in,

"You think it's all your problem? What the hell are you trying to prove?"

"Enough!" Noctis snapped. That seemed to break the two men apart, but Gladio turned his fury to Noctis now instead.

"And you! Your so-called 'Highness'," Noctis twitched at the poison in Gladiolus' voice. "If you were half the king you're supposed to be, you'd had let Iggy sit this one out."

"You think I had him coming?!"

"That is enough, Gladio!" Ignis snapped, his rage seeping into his carefully guarded tone. "Noct did indeed offer me a chance to wait at the inn, but I insisted on coming as is in order. I am not expecting you to adjust to my pace. I am expecting you to leave me behind should I become a hindrance."

Noctis stared at him, wide-eyed. He had never see Ignis' facade crack like this. "Ignis…?"

Ignis turned to where he assumed Noctis to be and a small smile graced his scarred features. "It is my sworn duty to stand by your side, Noct. Even in the most perilous of times. As is Gladio's."

The silence that followed was electrified, but in the midst of it Ignis stood in calm, the image of resolution. Noctis wanted – _needed_ – to say something but he couldn't. He had no words.

"Ignis… I, uh..."

Gladiolus, having had enough, went to stomp on. "Let's go."

Ignis spoke to Noct as he said, tone calm and collected again, "He is right, Noct. We should keep on the move." A bit shaken, the prince simply nodded.

"Right," muttered Prompto as he went to follow Gladiolus. He didn't even glance at Noctis, but the sorrow emanating from his friend hadn't escaped the prince. With a grimace of guilt he stayed behind with Ignis. He was lost for words as he watched the strategist stumbling with his stick, politely but sternly refusing help. Noctis wasn't sure if it was gallantry or just degrading. It was both. It was wrong.

Not much later did Gladio stop them, however, looking stressed and troubled. "Quiet. Listen." They fell silent, and after a while they all heard a clearly recognizable howl. "Bad news," the dark man muttered lowly. "Let's hope they've already eaten. Let's go! We need to make a camp."

"You don't suppose those'd be, you know, at some other rotten valley except this one?" Prompto chirped nervously, scratching his neck.

"Wouldn't bet on it," Gladio grunted.

The young gunslinger paled a little at the seriousness and went to reload his rounds. "I guess no can do then."

"Everyone, look lively!" Gladiolus barked as he scanned the horizon. Branches and reed moved in the breeze, nothing else, but he wasn't convinced. "Those are pack hunters. They're trying to surround us so stay together!" He threw a meaningful glare at Noctis, who visibly tensed.

"Will do," the blue-haired growled from behind clenched teeth. He felt Ignis' fumbling hand searching for his shoulder, found arm instead and gave a firm squeeze. Noctis understood the meaning.

"Now is not the time, Noct," Ignis stated calmly. "We should be prepared to face the enemy." As Noctis glanced down, at his palm, he noticed that Ignis had readied a Firaga spell.

"Don't tell me you're fighting!"

"I am not expecting to..."

"Fuck your expectations! You are not fighting!" Noctis spat a bit more harshly than he had intended and regretted it immediately. "That's an order. You let us take care of this."

Pink tint rose to Ignis' face; Noctis could see the inner struggle the genius fought inside. Finally he lowered his head in a small bow, "Very well, Noct. I will stay out of the way."

For most people the tone would have sounded neutral, but Noct picked up the mortification behind those words. Ignis must have thought he pitied him. Or worse yet, considered him useless. He was about to say something, to explain himself, but was interrupted by Prompto's fear-ridden, "Uh, guys… we have a little problem over here!"

Glancing up, Noctis noticed the pack gathered at the top of a cliff not a hundred yards away. Tails swishing and pacing back and forth, the animals were eyeing them intensely. They howled little yelps, growled and snarled, but so far didn't move in to attack them. Frowning, Noctis pondered his chances. There were four or five animals. He would make it.

'Offense is the best defense,' he thought and gently pushed Ignis off of him – "Noct?" – and summoned his blade.

"Prompto!"

"Yea?"

"Cover me! I'm going up!"

The cacophony of 'Nocts', 'are you demented's' and 'gotchas' faded in his ears as the hum of warping swished by him. Faster than a human eye could see, he landed on his sword impaling the now whining wolf. The rest of the pack had jumped back and were now recomposing and assessing the new threat. Not allowing the animals the time, Noctis pulled his blade out with a wet squelching sound and thrust forward to slash at the nearest one. "It's only four of you, anyway," he muttered murderously as the animal dodged his attack barely, baring its teeth at him and preparing to jump.

From down below he heard Prompto firing, but couldn't tell if he had hit. None of the beasts even flinched except for one that had turned to inspect the new sound.

"Goddamn idiot!" Gladiolus barked and Noctis could hear him swinging his huge sword, the resounding crack as it landed onto something solid. He wondered briefly what was going on down there, but could pay no more heed. The wolves had started circling him, and the closest leaped to reach at his gut. Relying on magic he dodged to reappear beside the wolf, using the inertia of the movement to slash his blade across the animal's throat. He heard more shots, and this time another wolf was thrown down, howling in agony.

"Nice one, Prompto!"

"It's nothing!"

Smelling the adrenaline and gore, the now lone wolf had pressed its ears down and was swishing its tail frantically. It looked cornered and panicked, but Noctis didn't want to take chances. Summoning his spear, the young warrior leaped into air and knocked the wolf down with a high jump. Before the animal had time to scamper onto its feet again, Noctis brought the spear down with all his strength.

And that's when a piercing cry of pain erupted.

"Ignis!"

"Iggy?!"

His heart plunging, Noct's eyes flew to the fire-starter. He was down, screaming, and a wolf on top of him, tearing into his flesh. Two other animals were closing in, snarling at the men, daring them to just try and take their prey.

"No!" His instincts took over. He summoned back his spear, aiming at the beast maiming Ignis, and warped. Through the hum, he could hear more shots fired. As the spear landed, Noctis rolled under it to twist the animal off of the man. "Iggy?!" Sparing a glance at the downed man, Noctis had to force down a gag. The adviser's left shoulder had been mutilated. There were gaping tear wounds that bled profusely, and claw marks riddled his arms and chest. His entire face read panic.

"Noct! Behind you!"

The prince spun just in time to parry the leaping animal, using its own momentum to slam it down and called a pistol to finish it. At the same time he could hear the swish of a great-sword slicing the air, and the resulting crush and a howl as Gladio dove to end the last standing wolf. There was more whining as the wolf Noctis had pushed aside scrambled onto its feet and scurried to flee, tail between its legs.

For a second it was quiet. For a second nobody moved, waiting, expecting, ready to fight.

Then they collapsed.

"Iggy!" Gladiolus leaped to gather the broken man from the ground. The fire-starter was clutching his shoulder, face a pained grimace. His breaths were shallow and fast, and he was shaking. A pitiful whine of pain and panic rolled from his throat. "It's alright, it's me."

Ignis tried to resist as the big guy peeled his hand off his wound, then inspected it carefully. "Prompto! Give me a Hi-Potion!"

"Ugh, right!" the blond fumbled through his pockets desperately, hands shaking.

"Now, Prompto!"

"Hold on… here!" The brunet snatched the bottle in less than a blink.

"Iggy… I need to stop the bleeding. It's gonna be bad even after that. Nod if you can hear me."

Ignis seemed to think about it a few moments, then took a deep breath – and nodded.

The potion must have burned since a new agony distorted his face as Gladiolus poured the liquid over the wound. With a disturbing sizzling sound the wounds begun to close, leaving behind angry red fresh skin, but at least it stopped the bleeding. Ignis was left gasping for air, sweat droplets on his nose and cheeks, and frowning in pain.

"Is he… gonna make it?" Prompto asked tentatively, begging eyes jumping between them.

Gladiolus was quiet for a while, not looking at anything but Ignis. "He'd better."

Noctis stood behind them in awe. He could simply stare at them in stupor. He watched how Gladio bent Ignis' head to give him water, watched Prompto on his knees next to them, shaking and trying to figure out what to do. Noctis couldn't do even that. In too much of a shock, he felt empty, clueless. He had never seen Ignis like this. Beaten. Weak. Fighting for his life.

He flinched when it registered that Gladio's enraged voice was directed to him.

"Didn't I tell you to stay together?! Why is it so goddamn difficult for you to heed what I'm telling you for once?!" Gladiolus had laid Ignis on the ground and stepped closer to the younger man at every accusation.

"Huh?"

"He was defenseless, Noct! Because you just had to have your stunt show on the road again!"

"Are you saying this was my fault?!"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!" He grabbed Noctis by the collar and pulled him to look at him in the eye. Unable to face that rage right now, the other turned his eyes to the ground. "I told you these things hunt in surrounding fashion. You left him an easy target. Now look at me and tell me how this isn't your fault."

"Get off me!" Noctis pushed himself off of the grip.

"You ordered him to back down, Noct. Nice going, kiddo, but a leader is bound to take responsibility of his actions when he calls the shots. Sometimes it backfires! Sometimes you end up with casualties. Iggy counted on you! Can you take responsibility of this now?!" Gladio roared, his face red.

Noctis felt an iron band tightening around his chest. All that Gladio accused him of, he understood he really had no choice but to plead guilty. He glanced at Ignis' grimacing face, and felt like drowning. He could never have imagined how badly he had misjudged. Him trying to protect them all had abandoned Ignis into a far greater danger. There was no justifying this.

"I didn't think he… I, uh..."

Seeing he would get nothing out of the prince, the older warrior grunted in frustration and tore an angry hand through his hair. "Get out of here. Make yourself useful and gather us some firewood or something. I can't stand the sight of you." Without another word Gladiolus turned to prepare to make a camp. The sun was setting, they had maybe an hour of daylight left. They would have to camp where they were stranded. Iggy could not have been moved.

"Are you still here?"

Snorting in anger, Noctis wanted to snap something at him. Did Gladio truly think that little of him? The labored pants coming from the strategist were like hammers, pounding into his conscience. This was Ignis, for heaven's sake! Did Gladio truly think he didn't care?! But fine! He wanted him gone, Noct was going alright! He merely spun around, stomping away from the trio. He heard running steps behind him, but didn't turn to look at Prompto. The blond was ending up as collateral damage in his misdirected rage.

"Noct…!" Prompto grabbed his arm. "C'mon, man! Are you serious?!"

"Get off, Prom," he grunted as he jerked his arm free.

Hurt flashed on Prompto's face as he lowered his hand. "C'mon, Noct. Don't be that way. Gladio didn't mean it."

"He meant exactly what he said! Every word! Do you think sugar-coating it is gonna make me feel better?!"

"Hey, no shooting the messenger." Aimed to be a chuckle, yet betraying the hurt behind it.

Noctis, realizing he was taking it out on Prompto, sighed in anger. "You should go back." He turned to walk away again.

"Noct! C'mon–!"

"Later." As the prince warped into the distance, Prompto threw his hands up with a frustrated cry and kicked some stones to let out his own fumes until he found no other excuse for not helping Gladio with encamping.

* * *

Prompto didn't know which was worse: the unjust fit Noct had thrown at him, or the silent fury still emanating from Gladio that luckily wasn't directed to him per se, but was still enough to darken the atmosphere of the entire campground. He didn't know how to approach it. He stole a glance at Ignis' prone form, spread next to the fire Gladio had put up and was currently tending. Luckily the man had fallen asleep, after many painful and fearsome moments when they had maneuvered him onto softer bedding. It had torn the wound open again, and they had sacrificed Iggy's sleeve to make a makeshift binding. The shoulder looked god-ugly and swollen, but at least it wasn't bleeding. Gladio had warned him that there was still a risk of infection, but Prompto had decided to worry about it later.

Darkness had descended a good hour ago. Noctis was still gone. Saying that Prompto was unhappy about that was the understatement of the century.

Gladiolus must have felt the glare of the sky blue as he eventually turned to look at the boy sitting almost across him. He held a deep frown and his mouth was a thin line. The significant indicator between worried and pissed were the unusually narrow eyes.

"If you have something to say, say it," the dark one shrugged, his tone challenging.

"You said some pretty shitty things to Noct, you know." The barely contained anger in Prompto's tone mirrored the other's. It seemed to catch him a bit off guard. He hadn't expected the blond to hold his ground.

"It's nothing he doesn't deserve to hear."

Prompto honestly snorted at that. "Do you mean that? Really, mean that?"

"Is there a point to this?" Gladio threw another branch at fire, sending light sparks into the night air.

"Because if you do, you're wrong."

The shield blinked and took a good look at the young man. His posture appeared casual, but Gladiolus could tell he was tense and on the edge. And it wasn't of fear. It was something else. He realized he had never seen Prompto like this, and doubted many ever had. It was more customary to someone else. He, too, stole a glance at Ignis.

It was resolution.

"It's not like what happened to Iggy was his fault, you know!" Prompto's stare never faltered as he spoke– no, declared those words, and Gladio stared back in surprised awe.

It took a moment for the man to compose himself. "He screwed up, and instead of facing the consequences of his screw up he ran. I don't call that kingly. I call it cowardly."

Prompto sighed and shook his head. "Give him time, man. Noct'll come around."

"Time is a luxury he doesn't have. We have an empire to overthrow."

"Don't you think he knows that?!" Prompto spat.

"I am... inclined to agree."

Both heads instantly snapped at the direction of the third voice.

"How long have you been awake?" muttered Gladiolus, in a considerably more gentle tone.

"Long enough to gather you have been an idiot." The words were sharp, but there was the inkling of sarcasm in his pained tone, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

"How you feeling, four-eyes?" Prompto smirked as he got up to get to his side.

"Well enough to mangle you should you ever call me that again." Ignis smirked a little at where he assumed Prompto to be.

"How bad is the pain?" Gladio returned his voice only slightly betraying his concern.

"It certainly is no walk in the park, but it's tolerable. You have done an impeccable job tending to it. I am confident that with a proper rest and a few more curatives I should be out and about in no time."

"Well, seeing as we haven't found ourselves a royal resting place yet, out is where we're gonna be, alright," Prompto tried to joke but fell silent as the others made a face.

"But now," Ignis turned towards the fire, "where's Noct?"

Unbeknownst to Ignis, the others shared a look. They had no easy answer to give.

"Uh, yeah. About that..."


	2. Chapter 2

**(F)AN: Again, thank you so much Elillierose for beta reading this! ^^ Everyone, you should check Elillierose's stories out! That's some awesome writing right there, I'm a fan. And what a great beta!**

 **Oh goshes, guys! You've made me so happy! All your kind feedback and likes - I've been smiling like crazy reading them. I'm so happy you're liking my story so far. :3**

 **Oh, and listen to that Dynazty song! I find the lyrics to be a cherry topping to this... disaster-ready-to-unfold.**

* * *

 _Join in on a grand expedition_

 _A trip through my contradiction_

 _Complex, diverse I guarantee_

 _Your chance to be all you can be_

 _I'm letting my nature talk_

 _It's the only way I will walk_

 _Life roars when given room to breathe_

 _Let's break the laws of you and me_

 _. ._

 _Can you really tell me what is right or wrong_

 _When they're two sides of the same coin_

 _Viewed in different ways_

 _The Human Paradox_

 _Step right into pandemonium_

 _Welcome to my delirium_

 _My Human Paradox_

 _The Human Paradox_

~ Dynazty - Human Paradox

Noctis' world crystallized for a fraction of a second as he reappeared a good distance from his friends. He glanced behind him, and saw Prompto's figure moving in the distance, and regret blossomed to bloom alongside his rage. Prompto hadn't deserved that. 'Just my luck, huh?'

He watched as the figure retreated out of his sight and sighed. He would apologize to him, later. And Noct knew Prompto would accept it, he always did, no matter how wrongly he had been treated. Sometimes Noct wanted to tell him he should value himself more. He shouldn't just take everything people threw at him. He deserved to be treated with more respect than that.

With a frustrated sigh and a shake of his head Noctis went to slump down at the bank of a small pond. The cloudy bluish green surface was tinted in reds and oranges as the setting sun painted the world in autumn colors. Smirking to himself, the young man snatched a small stone and flung it. It made three beautiful jumps before it went under with a small splosh. He gazed mindlessly how the ripples collided on the surface, two opposing energies, clashing and pushing through one another.

Ironic.

' _You left him an easy target. Tell me how this isn't your fault._ ' The words Gladio had spat at him rang in his head like a broken record, and he couldn't shake the image of Ignis' torn shoulder. ' _Your fault._ '

A bile rose to his mouth at the vision and he tried to gulp it down. Nevertheless it left his mouth tasting like acid and the disgust of it brought water behind his eyes.

Why of all people did it have to be Ignis?! Watching the man as he was now, a shadow of himself, was prolonged torture in itself. The Ignis he knew was, and always had been his one true mainstay. Now seeing him so helpless and yet striving to appear in control left behind an unsettlement Noctis wasn't ready to deal with. He had already lost so much: his father, his home, his love... It was now if ever that Noctis would have needed the adviser's support. But instead he felt like he had lost Ignis, too. The way he was now… Noct breathed a shaking gasp of mortification. It was a horrible thing to admit, but the tables had turned. He couldn't count on Ignis anymore. Now it was Ignis who was counting on him. Counting on the prince to rise up to meet his fate, reclaim what was rightfully his and bring the balance back to the world. 'No pressure,' Noctis thought with a mirthless chuckle.

Blindly feeling about the ground around him he picked up another small piece and tossed it across the pond. It didn't bounce, not even close; it sunk with a small plop, a few drops splashing to his face. He wiped it off with a disgusted grimace.

The same disgust he had seen on Gladio's face as the shield had told him to scram. His fist clenched. How could Gladio do this to him?! He felt like a captain with a mutinous first mate. And simultaneously he knew he deserved nothing less. He had failed them, and he had failed himself. Gladio might have been a bastard about it, but he was right. Some" king" he was. Defiled and cast aside, incapable of protecting even the few who really mattered to him, so how was he supposed to protect the masses? It felt like such a joke.

And yet it was the only road he had to walk. There was no-one else. And he wanted to! Heavens, he wanted to. The rage and loathe towards the Empire, towards the men who had taken everything from him burned inside like an inferno. He wanted nothing more than to see them perish, deliver his justice in crimson rivers.

But he couldn't do it alone.

He needed them. He needed to know they stood beside him, no matter what. But what exactly were they fighting for? The young man had never realized it but all his life he had taken them for granted. His friends were in this for him. 'For their king,' he thought with a gulp. They were his Kingsglaive now. But would they still follow a king that would lead them on a one-way trip?

He knew he had no choice. There was only one fate for him. Take back his throne, or die trying. But – the young man breathed a shaky sob – it was so hard! He felt like the weight of it all was crushing him. He was rising against an entire empire. Just the mere thought seemed inconceivable. And yet here he was. He chuckled darkly as he called a dagger and twirled it around. The gods' blessing, huh? 'Blessing my ass!' he thought. 'The returns counter, please. I'd like to file a complaint.'

Shaking his head sadly he let the dagger vanish and cast his eyes at the darkening sky. He wondered if Ignis was alright. His anger had subsided into grief and regret, and the iron band was firmly in place around his heart again. He felt so guilty. As he gazed upon the first evening stars, he promised himself never again. Never again would anyone dear to him suffer because of his poor judgment. Because of his stupidity. He didn't dare let the 'what ifs' enter his mind. He couldn't live with himself if Ignis died of his wound. Because then it would have been the same as if Noctis had killed him himself.

He was snapped out of it as he felt a lone tear streaking down his cheek. Gulping back the treacherous moisture behind his eyes, he went to hastily wipe it off and begrudgingly pushed himself up. His eyes again went over the small water and he gazed at it with dark seriousness in his expression. He would have to get back eventually. Might as well try and catch something for dinner. He gulped a little at the idea of facing Gladio. It wouldn't hurt to have a peace offering.

With a swish the lure plunged deep into the murky waters and Noct started to reel it with a slow pace. Soon the small weight was back and he cast it again, slightly to the side from his first try. After a few wasted attempts he huffed a little in frustration. "C'mon! All I'm asking for is one bite," he chuckled humorlessly. Maybe these grown and stale waters didn't even have fish in them. Or if they did, the scale thingies sure were picky. After a couple of dozen wasted attempts he was about ready to call it quits, but then he heard the distinctive splash of a fish from amongst the reeds in the low water.

"Found you," he smirked in the thickening darkness. He cast the lure close to the reedy low, and this time the third time was the charm. The fish did put up a little bit of a fight, but with a genuine smile Noct soon pulled out a decent-sized bass. Encouraged, he cast again but for the longest while he didn't get even a nibble.

Suddenly he froze and a cold shiver ran down his spine as he heard rustling of the ground approaching him. Shit! It had been a sucky idea to stay alone after dark! Spinning around in a whirl he dismissed his rod and called out his daggers instead, ready to fight and flee. He relaxed his posture and let the daggers disappear immediately as the familiar face greeted him with a shy smirk.

"Prom?"

Prompto stretched his arms up over his head as he casually stepped closer. However, the blond glanced around restlessly, and Noctis noted that he seemed reluctant to look at him. The shame for shouting at him stung him again.

"So he's alive," Prompto smirked at him, but it was a little timid. Noctis hated how his friend felt like he had to tiptoe around him.

"Yeah." Feeling awkward, Noctis, too, averted his gaze and scratched the back of his neck.

"That's good. I wouldn't have wanted to come and find a corpse."

"I guess I forgot about the time."

Prompto's eyebrows rose in silent question, then he noted the fish in the grass, and his expression brightened as he dropped to crouch to inspect his catch. "Nice work, dude! You caught dinner!" Not knowing what to say, the prince simply smiled shyly.

"Yeah, thanks, I guess." Hesitantly, Noctis glanced around a little. He had to say it, and he had to say it now. But the words again refused to come to him. Why was this so difficult?! "Listen, Prompto…I..." Not rising, the blond simply looked at him, question and expectation in his eyes. To Noctis, the gesture seemed almost vulnerable. "Sorry for shouting at you."

The sky blue of Prompto's eyes brightened and an inkling of a smile rose to his face. He pushed himself up. "Nah, no worries," he said with a grin in his voice. Noctis shook his head in shame. He was let off too easy. Again.

"I'm a douche," the prince chuckled in shame and shook his head.

"Dude. Word," Prompto grinned at him and offered his fist. "So, we cool?"

"Definitely!" They fist-bumped and joked around a little before Noctis got serious again.

"How is he?" There was no need to specify.

"He's good, he's awake. And judging from the earful he gave Gladio just now, I'd say he's pretty much his good ol' grumpy self. He gave the big guy's ass a living hell!" The other chuckled at the mental image as immense relief washed over him.

"We should probably head back."

"Dude, no kiddin'! Don't know about you but I don't wanna spend another minute here as a walking buffet. No, sir! Nuh-uh!" Prompto heralded as he spun around to get back.

As he watched his friend's distancing back, Noctis couldn't help but smile. He was so lucky to have a friend like Prompto. He was one of those people who bring out the best in others. He had brought Noctis around in less than ten words and a smile, just by being there. He needed Ignis and he needed Gladio, but he also needed Prompto. He'd lose himself if it wasn't for all of them.

"The last at the camp is a scabby imp!" Prompto hollered at him over his shoulder and sprinted. Smirking, Noctis let him enjoy his short lead – before warping to appear ten yards ahead of him and dashing off ahead. "Hey! Not fair!"

"Better run faster, scabby imp," he laughed as he neared the campfire ahead of them.

The big man was sitting shirtless by the flames with a piece of wood in his hand. Ignis was laying on a camping mattress, seemingly asleep, his injured shoulder propped to rest on Gladio's folded jacket. Noctis noted with a grimace that he looked pained in his rest, and the sweat-sheened face was pale.

Gladiolus only glanced at their direction as Noctis trotted into the light, followed not far behind by a lightly panting Prompto. He didn't say anything, but the deepening frown on his face told Noctis enough. He needed to tread carefully.

"Hey." The brunet simply grunted as an answer and gave a small jerk of his head. Prompto moved to stand somewhat to the side but still between them, arms crossed over his chest, eyeing them both expectantly. The young man hesitated for a moment before he put the fish out to offer. "We should cook it before it spoils."

Dark eyebrows rose a little and the amber eyes shifted between the prince and the fish. After an eternity he grunted, "Good job. Put it on a stick and let it roast. We'll share." He said no more as he turned his eyes back to the fire, but to Noctis even that felt like a way point. Gladio's voice had been sincere if a bit awkward, but to him, that was enough. For now they had a truce. With a nod he went to do as he was told – summoning a spear and sticking the fish into it he supported his makeshift roasting stick over the fire. He noticed Gladio eyeing him with a mixed expression of amusement and disapproval.

"You really have no respect for weaponry, do you?" the big man grunted with a small smirk. Noctis simply shrugged.

"It always comes back anew."

"Is everything a game to you?"

"Not everything," he stated as he sat down onto a log by the fire. "How is he?"

"What do you think? He damn near had his tendons severed," the disapproval was back in the dark man's tone. Noctis wasn't willing to put up with that anymore.

"Don't talk to me like a child. Tell me straight," he demanded, his tone turning into a near-snarl again.

Snorting, Gladio gave him a look but sighed in frustration and said, "He's in a lot more pain than he lets out, alright. There's only so much potions can do for him. It's probably gonna be at least another day or two before he walks."

The others' eyes widened, and Prompto let out a small gasp. "But he was just fine!" the gunslinger burst.

"Yeah well, just count on Iggy to always put up the brave front."

They all fell silent, looking everywhere but at each other as the words sunk in. Prompto fidgeted in the ground, nervously shifting his position. Noctis had his eyes glued onto the fire and his hair hid his expression. Gladiolus grunted as he got up to wander further from the camp, muttering something about taking a leak as he went. The tension was so thick they all could taste it. It tasted like copper and rot.

Noctis was so deep in his thoughts it didn't immediately register that Prompto was muttering to himself. Glancing at his direction, the storm eyes widened slightly. Prompto was hugging his knees to his chest, had his eyes downcast and was rocking himself back and forth a little. From the midst of it, Noctis could make out "gonna be alright". For some reason it made him feel anxious.

"Prompto?"

It was like the blond had snapped out of it. His back straightened with a startled gasp, he let his legs unfold and, realizing he had been caught, went to scratch his head in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry." Noctis simply shook his head.

"Don't be. What's up, Prom?"

The blond looked uncomfortable. "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about me." Noctis made a face.

"It's obviously not nothing. Talk to me, man. What's wrong?"

Prompto shook his head and avoided his eyes. "It's… it's stupid. I just..." He fell silent, reluctant to continue. The sky blue glanced at the storm tone, saw the expectation, and Prompto's voice was hesitant. "I'm just scared. You know, for Iggy. You guys are pretty much all I've ever had."

It was obviously difficult for Prompto to say these things, and Noctis' face softened. "Iggy's gonna be fine."

"No, he isn't." Noctis blinked at the gravity of his tone. "He's never gonna be the same, Noct."

Noctis felt his heart plummet. He was about to say something but it caught into his throat as Gladiolus' sturdy figure and inquisitor-like eyes strayed back into the circle of light.

"What's going on?" the shield asked as his eyes went from the flushed and fidgeting blond to the prince.

Ignoring the tone, Noctis rose to challenge him. "You took your time."

"Excuse me for wanting to take care of my business in private."

"Too much info!"

"Then stop asking."

Shaking his head Noctis went to check on the fish. He stole a glance at Prompto, who had his eyes downcast and a faint blush on his face, but the traces of panic were gone. Secretly happy about that he took a look at their small meal. The fish was done, and they split it up and ate in uncomfortable silence. Every once in a while someone tried to start up a conversation or make a comment about the meal – "Tastes like parched leather." – but each attempt died quickly. Occasionally someone played King's Knight or trained with his weapons a little, but it was painfully clear that everybody was just trying to kill time. Waiting for the night to be able to escape the tension into sleep.

The fire had reduced into embers when Gladiolus finally stretched and said,

"You two should head for bed. I'm taking the first watch." Without another word he gestured them to go and went to gather their potions.

"No, you go," Noctis offered. "I'll take the watch."

Gladio cast him a stern glare. "Iggy's wound has to be tended to. Do you have any idea about that?" Taken aback by the tone, the younger man hesitated. "That's what I thought. You go to bed. I'll take the watch." Almost like a calculated killing blow, Gladio added insult to injury, "You've done enough for today."

It hit him, hit and sank. Struck speechless at the sheer cruelty of Gladio's words, he was left staring in mortified awe. He felt a hand on his shoulder and Prompto urging him to never mind Gladio and coming to bed. Seeing he had already lost, he gave up and turned to follow Prompto to get settled for some sleep.

Later he laid awake, listening to the steady puffs of the gunslinger's breaths. He had heard Gladio moving around outside, and he heard murmured voices, one low and resentful, the other pained and intermittent. Every now and then he heard clearly the pained sounds leaving the adviser. He made out his name, could guess what was being said. With a sad sigh he was left staring at the tent's roof and wondering if Gladio would ever forgive him.

* * *

 **AN2:** **Btw, did anyone else go like, "Ooooh, burn!" when Noctis is like "no-one is never going to suffer because of my stupidity ever again"?! :D Like, one week later... :D**


	3. Chapter 3

The prince must have fallen asleep in the wee hours of the night. Twitching and mumbling in his restless sleep, he dreamed dark dreams. Pained dreams.

The rising waters and clutter flew in the air around him as he ran towards two people. They were not far, not twenty yards from him, but no matter how fast he ran, he didn't seem to get any closer.

"Luna!"

In the ground, looking exhausted and disheveled laid his bride, her white dress dirtied and hair a mess. And by her side sat the man that made Noctis' insides crawl: the Imperial Chancellor, Ardyn Izunia. Noctis wanted to run faster, but they still seemed so far away. The closer he got, the further they went. He was getting desperate. 'Don't go.'

"Wait!"

Neither of them looked at him, as if he hadn't existed. Izunia said something to the woman, then reached to draw out something. The second when Noctis saw the dagger before it was sunk hilt-deep into the woman's gut was the longest second he would ever know.

"No!"

Desperately scrambling to get closer, he watched how Luna dropped to lean onto the Chancellor's arm, clutching her side, her face twisted in agony. From somewhere appeared a white dog – Pryna – and sniffed around them, then went to sit next to her – and howled. It was a mourning howl, dark and piercing, a sound from the next world.

"No! Luna!"

With deliberate slowness, the Chancellor turned to look at the young man. The smile that he held on his face was stomach-turning; it was every bit as satisfied as it was calculating and evil. Izunia rose to stand, letting Luna's already fading corpse drop to the ground like a rag doll. That smile never faded as he brought up the hand that had only just stabbed his beloved, and showed him the blood-stained palm. Drenched in Luna's blood.

There was so much of it. It dripped from his outstretched palm, and as Noctis' eyes descended, he recognized a third familiar form. In the ground, at the Chancellor's feet, laid the limp form of Ignis, his injured shoulder torn wide open, an unspeakable pain clouding those eyes – oh god, _eyes_! – that were fixed on him. The coppery droplets fell onto his sweat-sheened face and hair, painting a grim contrast of crimson and ashen pale.

"No- Noct…" Ignis' agonized voice was merely a whisper, but it seemed to fill up the entire world. The adviser extended a shaking arm to try to reach him. It seemed to take everything he had to do even that. The suffering and the fear of death was written all over his features. The droplets of dripping blood had turned into rivulets, cascading down onto his face. It spilled over his eyes, shutting them out under a crimson seal…

"Heaaugh! Noctis bolted up, panting heavily. He was covered in a cold sweat and shaking a little. It took a few of moments to reassess where he was and what was going on. As his eyes frantically went over their scattered belongings and bedclothes until finally settling onto Prompto's peacefully sleeping form, curled up under his blanket, his heart rate slowly came down and breathing evened. But it did nothing to shake off the uneasy feeling.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. The dream images faded quickly, leaving only vague glimpses and the confusion. 'It was just a dream,' he told himself firmly, trying to ignore the shivers running down his spine. 'Just a dream.'

Prompto made a mumbling sound in his sleep and nuzzled against his pillow. It brought Noctis' attention back to the present. In increasing awareness, the prince gazed at his friend; a small smile graced Prompto's lips as his breaths came in light puffs. Noctis snorted. 'Well, at least someone's sleeping well.' It briefly crossed his mind that maybe Prompto was dreaming about Cindy? Well, dreaming was about as close as he would ever get to the cute mechanic, so let him have his fun.

With a frustrated grunt, he kicked his bedding off him and got dressed as quietly as he could. Unheard of as that might have been, the morning had effectively rid him of any desire to sleep for the good of the day.

It was still dark when he stepped out of the tent. Sheesh, what time was it, anyway? It could have been anything, really; the day had gotten shorter, the sun didn't rise before nine nowadays.

Gladiolus was doing push-ups by the small fire. As he heard movement, he glanced at the younger one and didn't bother hiding his surprise. "You're early."

"Uah heim ih ih?" Noctis yawned.

"Half past five. Something up?"

Shaking his head a little the young man stretched. "Couldn't sleep."

Gladio smirked. "First time to everything."

"Can you can it?" He really wasn't in the mood for Gladio right now.

"Whatever, princess," the dark man grumbled. Noctis gave him a glare.

Hopping onto his feet, Gladio pointed his thumb at the ground he had just been. "Well, since you're up, how 'bout a few sets? You could use some workout."

"How 'bout you shut up?" the other replied in his usual monotone.

Dark brows furrowed. "Why? You think you're gonna hear something you won't like?"

Perking up, a dark expression flashed over Noctis' face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snarled, taking a few steps towards the other man, visibly tensing. Gladiolus sensed that the heat was peaking. He hadn't anticipated this but he refused to back down.

"You know what. When're you gonna get it that if you wanna get something done, you need to work for it? You're not putting up the effort."

Noctis stepped right in front of him, looking furious. "Care to say that again?!"

"You heard me. You wanna end this? Then quit your bitching, and start acting the part."

Noctis snorted incredulously. "I know, alright?!"

"You don't know shit! All you've been doing for these past two weeks is feeling sorry for yourself," Gladio spat.

"Well, newsflash, big guy: I've had a pretty shitty two weeks so give me a break, will you?"

Gladiolus snorted, now warming up, too. "And it's all about you, isn't it? Tell me something, Noct: how much longer is your pity party going to take?"

"You know what, I'm getting sick and tired of your shit, Gladio!" Noctis snarled, eyes blazing.

"Then get yours together! We're on a schedule here!"

"You think I don't know that?! You think this is funny?! You just try–!"

"The Empire might be sending troops to Caem as we speak, who knows if they haven't already–!"

"—to watch how it's taken from you–!"

"—look around you and see that you're not the only one hurting here, so get it together!"

"—see how you like it!"

Gladiolus had grabbed Noctis by his collar, they were face to face, both furious, both unraveling. "If you were half the man your father was–!" Gladiolus was cut short at the look at the young man's face, twisted by anger, daring him to finish it. But in those stormy eyes the older man also saw the spark of vengeance that knew no boundaries. Noct might have lacked the ability, but never again could Gladio claim he lacked the will. It was there, burning like a wildfire, waiting to be unleashed. The rest of the sentence stuck to his throat. With a grunt, he pushed the other off him.

He had crossed the line. Looking at Noctis, he understood that he had gone too far. Bringing up His Majesty had been uncalled for, a low blow, and Gladio knew it. Shit, it hadn't been his intention to start like this again! Stroking a hand through his mane of hair, the shield visibly yielded.

Noctis looked like a wild animal. Snarling, fists clenched and shaking of rage, he hissed, "Well excuse me for not being my father." The hurt was evident in his voice. A disarming voice that drained Gladiolus of his rage. He stroked his hair back, feeling awkward and embarrassed.

"Forget it." He went to push past Noctis, to the tent. "I'm gonna take a nap. Keep the fire going and see to Iggy–" He was interrupted by a firm grip on his bicep, spinning him around to face the furious man.

"You think that's it?!" Noctis hissed, demanding, but the grip lost its strength as soon as he saw the expression on the dark man's face. It was a look of unspoken regret and empathy.

"Sorry." Gladiolus' tone was humble, sincere. Guilty. The clipped utterance did no justice to the meaning behind it, but it was there, and it threw Noctis off. It wasn't what he had expected. He was left with surprised silence when Gladio pulled himself off rather gently and escaped into the tent. His rage dulled into confusion. He didn't know what to think about him. He was mad, yes, but he couldn't find it in himself to harbor a grudge.

Resentment and understanding waged a battle in him as he went to check on Ignis. The adviser laid close to the fire, seemingly unconscious or in deep sleep. Checking his vitals, Noctis found a pulse less strong than he would have liked. His argument with the bodyguard was forgotten as guilt stung his heart. "I'm sorry, Specs," he muttered to himself.

Said man must have sensed the presence, since he stirred and grunted as he came to. "Gl- dio?" It was exhausted and it was small.

"It's me," Noctis said quietly.

"Noct?"

"Uh-hmm."

Ignis made a move to rise. "Is it… morning already?" he tried and failed to hide his anguish.

"Don't push it. You should stay down," he went to push the stubborn man back down. Ignis put up a resistance before succumbing to the pain and reluctantly relaxed himself again, panting a little.

"A- apologies," he started, hissing at a jolt of pain. "It appears my… condition is… causing us a mighty delay." Noctis rolled his eyes.

"Save it. It wasn't your fault." 'If anything, it was mine,' he added in his mind. As if reading his thoughts, the adviser said sternly,

"You must not blame yourself, Noct. What… what you did was…"

"Stupid?" the other offered, with a dark chuckle. The brunet flashed a tight smile.

"I would think... 'brave' to be… more appropriate."

Noctis shook his head. Where did Ignis' compassion stem from, he couldn't understand. He didn't deserve it. "Gladio told you?"

"He did," the other grunted as he shifted.

"Then he also must have told you I left you open," he huffed, the tone betraying his guilt. "I'm sorry, Specs."

The man listened with a serious expression. Then, an inkling of a smile rose to his lips again. "But I presume that... you acted in the… the best intention of… protecting everyone, am I correct?"

Noctis blinked. "Well, yeah. But it's not gonna make up–"

With a grimace of pain, Ignis raised a hand to interrupt him – his injured hand. "You made… a choice, Your Highness. Now you… live with that choice and… don't look back."

Noctis felt like his heart was strangling him. How could Ignis say these things? He was torn into bits and in agony, because of him, and here he was telling him to accept it and move on. He opened his mouth a few times to say something, but nothing came out. What could he possibly say?

Ignis seemed to sense the younger man's distress. He breathed a sigh and turned his unseeing eyes to the sky. "You know, Noct, I've… always considered fear… to be an asset."

"What's this now?" the said man gave a timid laugh.

"Most people are… hindered and drawn back… by their fears," he grunted, riding out a jolt of pain.

"Easy, Iggy. Save your strength," Noctis went to help him into a better position, but the adviser firmly pushed his hand aside. He seemed determined to finish what he wanted to say, and the prince didn't have the heart to stop him.

"Everyone fears something, Noct. But… all those greatest fears and… insecurities… Ultimately, they are the reflection of all your hopes and dreams, too. Learn to utilize them… let them motivate you… instead of working against you… and you shall never go without resolve again." He held a pause before adding, with a content smile on his face, "My greatest fear… has always been… letting you down, Your Highness."

The blue eyes widened. Noctis was struck with awe. "Specs…" He felt moved. There was the support he knew, the Ignis who had always been there for him. He knew that now. Come hell or high water – which, ironically, had come, both at the same time – Ignis would always be there for him.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure." Ignis settled shifted on the mattress, a smile on his lips.

"You should rest."

"A… capital idea… Noct," he sighed tiredly. He said nothing more and after a few moments his breath evened into that of sleep. Sighing Noctis watched his rib cage rise and fall in steady rhythm for a moment until he went to poke the fire and gazed at it until the first rays of dawn lightened the sky in the horizon.

He woke them up (Prompto with some effort) when it was light enough to see outside. When they all had done their morning routines and packed up their tent, everyone sat around the last embers of the dying bonfire. Even Ignis was awake, still laying on the mattress but nonetheless aware. Everyone looked serious, everyone avoided looking at each other.

"So…" Prompto started with an awkwardness to his tone.

"So," Gladio mirrored the tone, bringing his hands together under his chin. "What're we gonna do?"

No-one spoke for a moment. The silence that ensued was pressing and awkward. Apparently Noctis had suddenly discovered something truly fascinating about his glove, for he studied it with exaggerated interest. Gladiolus had his eyes cast to the sky, and Prompto kept reloading and reloading his gun. It was Ignis who couldn't stand it anymore.

"It would seem clear that… going on as planned is out of the question." He didn't need to see to know he had the others' attention. He could feel the eyes on himself. "You should… leave me here and proceed. I am… hindering you."

"No way! You're not staying behind," Gladiolus stated out-of-the-question-like.

"Ditto. We're not leavin' you here, man!"

Ignis looked displeased. "Staying put because of me would be a waste of time I cannot allow!"

The others fell silent, but Noct had watched the exchange keenly. After a moment, he said, his tone serious,

"We should return to the station. Get you fixed up, Specs."

Gladio shook his head in defeat. "We should already be closer to the damn tomb than the station. If we go back now, all this has been for nothing."

The fire-starter struggled to push himself into sitting position. His pain-distorted face told exactly at what cost. "I agree with Gladio. Let us remember that… nothing matters more than… retrieving the royal arm," he grunted in between his stinging pants. "My… condition included."

Noctis' eyes widened a little. He hated how Ignis downplayed the seriousness of his injury. "No way! We're not pushing it at your expense, Specs." To hell with the royal arm if it meant that.

Ignis seemed especially displeased at that. "Since you have just ever so adamantly refused the idea of leaving me behind, I see no other course of action. Staying put puts us into a far greater risk." The words hung above them like a lead haze.

Gladiolus sighed in frustration. "If we're gonna move, we'd better get going." He pointed at the huge machinery partly buried in the swampland at the bottom of the valley, not half-a-day's trek away. "It should be over by that pile somewhere. But getting there will be tough." He glanced at Ignis meaningfully. The others who could see the gesture nodded quietly.

"What about we split up?" Prompto suggested. "Two go to the tomb, two stay here?"

"Too dangerous. Let's face it, you guys aren't exactly suited for the wild, and if the beasts attack the camp, only one won't be enough. Sorry, Iggy, but in your condition…" the shield let the end of the sentence hang in the air. The lighter brunet's face withdrew into an ugly scowl but he said nothing.

"You've got a better idea?" Noctis' tone was challenging.

Gladiolus seemed to take a moment to consider. His eyes rested on Ignis for a long time, and a frown deepened on his forehead. "Iggy. Be honest. How bad is it? Can you make it?"

The adviser looked like he had just swallowed a lemon whole. "It seems necessary. Time is… of the essence, and I must agree that… dividing the party would be a foolish gamble."

"Don't push it, Specs."

"No, Noct, Gladio's…. Gladio is right. We… cannot waste any more time than we already have. I'll… I'll do my best."

"We'll go as slowly as you need. You need a break, we take a break," Gladio reassured the injured strategist. He didn't pay any heed to the shocked expressions around them. Were they seriously going to do this?!

"Wait a sec! If we take Iggy—!" Prompto exclaimed in shock.

"We're not leaving Iggy if that's what you're saying," Gladiolus interrupted.

"Of course, not! But who's gonna, you know…" Prompto let the ending go with the wind, but shrugged lightly towards the strategist.

Ignis seemed to sense what the gunslinger implied and snorted, "Don't insult me, Prompto! I am still capable of… handling myself." He made a move to get onto his feet, hissing in pain but pushing himself up. He wobbled a little, clutching his injured shoulder to steady himself. Prompto jumped up to support him, but the strategist soon pushed his hand aside.

Noctis watched them, feeling vexed. He really didn't like pushing Ignis, but he knew they couldn't stay here, either. And separating the group would be a far greater risk than having Ignis and going slow. And if they had to move, might as well go and find the damn tomb and be done with it. They were down here because of him, after all, his conscience reminded him, so the sooner they were done, the better. Then they could get back and get Ignis to a proper doctor. It was the sole choice they really had.

The sun had crept above the skyline by the time they put out the fire and started the descend towards the mysterious machinery. But their pace was slow, and they had to stop often to allow Ignis the time to rest. It wasn't easy. The strategist stumbled on every shaky step, hissed in pain at every jerk of his wounded shoulder, and despite Prompto jumping in and out of supporting him among the rubble, Ignis could barely go on for half a mile before they needed to stop. But when someone would ask if he was alright or if he wanted to turn back, Ignis would hear no more of it. He would assure them he was managing and that they shouldn't exaggerate, even though it was painfully obvious that for him, every step was torture. He was pale and panting in exhaustion and pain. The worry for the adviser was written on everyone's face but everyone pretended they didn't see it. So, they kept going like that, covering half a mile at a time before they had to pause again, wondering if the next pause would be permanent.

As they stopped for the umpteenth time to allow Ignis some relief, Noctis asked himself again why he had allowed this.

Hearing the adviser's agonized, labored gasps and breaths was a noose slowly tightening around Noctis' neck. The brunet had been leaning on him for support for the past two hours, and the prince knew that he had no strength left to support himself. Every ounce he had was wasted on just moving forward and not fainting. Ignis hadn't said a word, but the pained sounds slipping from him told him enough. He was at his limit. They had made less than half of the distance, and Ignis was waning. His face was sweat-sheened and pale, and the pants had grown more desperate.

"You OK, Specs?"

His reply was a small shake of his head. "I'm afraid… that I can't go further," he grunted, each word forced. His knees buckled and he slumped his weight against the other.

"Hey, Ignis?! Specs, let's get you down." Noctis secured his arm around him and went to lower. But without a warning Ignis' body went limp as awareness escaped him and the brunet's entire mass slumped against Noctis. The extra weight threw him off balance, and with a heavy collapse they stumbled into the ground, the stones scratching their faces and arms.

Noctis' head met the ground, stars exploded across his vision as pain surged through his skull. For a moment, he knew nothing but blackness. Then he heard voices, muffled voices calling out to him through his haze. As the pain subsided, Prompto's voice crystallized.

"Noct?! Can you hear me?"

"Ye- yeah," he grunted as he felt a weight being lifted off him. Gladiolus laid Ignis' limp form onto the ground as gently as he could before turning his attention to the prince. He took a firm hold of his shoulder and brought him to a sitting position.

"Noct, listen, I want you to follow this finger with your eyes, got it?" he said as he brought his index finger in front of his eyes. The prince blinked a few times before nodding and after a few more blinks his gaze moved with the finger, right to left and back across. Satisfied, Gladio nodded. "No concussion." Was Noct just imagining it, or was there a ghost of a smile behind that?

"Yeah, I'm fine," Noctis gestured him to let him up. "But something's wrong with Iggy."

"You got that right."

The strategist was out cold. He was feverish and sweaty and flushed all over, and the makeshift sleeve-bind over his wound was slowly seeping moist. Fear, raw and unfiltered, settled into their stomachs as it sunk.

Gladiolus' hands shook a little as he carefully peeled off the layers of fabric. As it came off and he saw the skin, a colorful cascade of curses spewed. Prompto audibly gulped. "It's bad, isn't it?"

"Yup."

Noctis' heart skipped a beat. "How bad?"

"About the worst possible."

Gladiolus moved to show them, and the others exchanged a worried look. The shoulder looked swollen and raw. Suppurating.

Infected.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, I'm not gonna go easy on Iggy. So if you're really feeling for him, I'm gonna make you sad in the next chapters.**

 **But lol, I love writing his lines! :D The way he talks, all "proper Oxford English" like, it's priceless coming up with that stuff.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Again, I want to thank Elillierose for beta reading and fixing my mistakes and the oddities I had. ^^ And I want to thank you all for the love you've shown for 'Collision' so far! It's boggled my mind, to be honest. I'm so happy you're liking it. Lol, until this chapter probably.**

 **I gotta give you a fair warning, in this chapter I'm making Ignis scream. A lot. Ignis's gonna be hurting a lot.**

* * *

The skin around the milky-white and wet wound was angry red, as if Ignis had scratched it. The barely closed avulsion oozed clear, yellowish pus that glimmered ominously on the scarring tissue. It was disgusting! But the worst part of it was the smell. From a foot afar they could feel the odor. The repulsive, sickly stench of festering hovering around the man like a macabre veil.

The adviser was pale; his upper body spasmed a little. Prompto couldn't get his eyes off him. Hating what he saw, fighting the rising disgust in himself, he watched in morbid fascination how the man trembled, feeling lesser with every twitch. He felt himself so useless. Ignis was suffering, and all he could do was watch. He glanced at the others and read the same cluelessness on their faces. It was a cold shower: no one had an idea what to do.

"Now what?" Prompto's voice was a near-whimper. He couldn't help it; he was scared. Scared of hearing that it was too late, that there was nothing they could do.

Gladiolus had his eyes closed as he pulled a hand through his mane, his face serious. "He needs medical attention." After a small pause, he added, more to himself but it was spoken out loud nonetheless, "We should've never come here."

"Well, we're here, so we can drop the 'should haves'," Noctis noted, his eyes never leaving Ignis and tone unusually guarded. "Is there anything we can do?" The shield shook his head in silence, his appearance slumped. Prompto recognized that gesture. It was a gesture he had seen on himself far too often, long ago, when he was younger. But seeing it in Gladio made his heart skip a beat. It was inadequacy.

The large man breathed a sigh. "You're not gonna like this." The others' eyes narrowed in anticipation. "We could try to use the Antidote and more potions on him. It's not gonna be the same as actual medicine, but no hurt in trying. But in any case, we need to drain the wound."

"I thought the Antidote only works on poisoning," Prompto mused out loud, desperation audible in his voice.

"It does. But it's the best we've got. He needs antibiotics." The dark man didn't look at him, he spoke to the sickly form lying in front of them.

Noctis raised his head, his attention on something Gladio had said. "What do you mean 'drain the wound'?"

"That's the thing you're not gonna like. We need to open it, wash out the pus before it gets worse. In the best case, it's gonna be painful." Then he added, "Iggy's wound's pretty bad. If it's not done, we might be facing maggots or even gangrene."

"Gangrene?!" The others looked shocked.

"Yeah, in the long run. That's if things go pear-shaped. This is the nature talking. The sooner we'll get out of here, the better chance he has."

"And this isn't pear-shaped?!" Prompto exclaimed, shocked with the news. The others seemed surprised at that. "You saying this is the good news?!"

Gladiolus looked at him, his expression betraying nothing, but Prompto noted how his eyes seemed to study him, as if he was looking for something he didn't believe he would find. "That animal could've had any number of crud in its teeth. It bit him deep, this was bound to happen. At this stage, it's still manageable. So yeah, this is the good news."

The atmosphere was pressing. No one liked the brutal honesty of the survivalist's words, but couldn't argue with the reality. Their eyes were glued onto the strategist, who visibly shook as fever spasms ravaged him. It was almost unbearable to watch, and yet Noctis didn't even blink. This was his sin. Bearing witness to it was his punishment.

"Let's do it." Noctis' voice was small. Gladio nodded in silence, not looking at him as he went to gather the man into his arms. Without a word, looking like he was going to throw up, Noctis summoned a dagger. The putrid smell seemed to wrap around them, burning their noses and throats.

"Prompto." The blond jolted out of stupor at the call of his name. "Maybe get us those vials, please?" The gunslinger blinked at the tone. It had been borderline nerve-wrecking. So thick with worry and anticipation it almost didn't sound like Noct anymore. It made him all the more anxious.

"Uh, sure." His legs like noodles, Prompto dragged himself to go through their scarce equipment until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed three containers and wobbled back to find Gladio on his knees in the ground, Ignis' head on his thigh and the injured shoulder resting on a black jacket. Next to them sat Noctis, clenching the fabric of his pants so hard his knuckles were white. On his lap laid the dagger.

"You sure you're up to this, Noct?" Prompto asked, his voice quaking.

"Not in a million years," he chuckled humorlessly. The young man looked pale and his hands shook a little. He was terrified of what he was about to do.

"Better get it done before he wakes up," urged Gladio but it was supportive rather than demanding. Nodding quietly, the young man gripped the hilt.

The bulky guy popped open an Antidote, basted the already raw skin with it. He nodded to Noctis, a determined frown creasing his features. The prince let out a deep breath, summoning the courage to go through with this, and brought the tip against the marred skin.

With a final glance at Ignis' face, Noctis cut deep into the flesh.

The filth spurted out with force, some speckling his hand and face. It was blood mixed with goo, clots and grime. In the midst of it, Ignis let out a confused, unintelligent whimper.

"Shit!" Noct snorted with spite as the body beneath him awoke into a haze of anguish.

Ignis' moans became panicked as the pain registered. The unexplainable, foreign pain.

Seeing the young one freezing, a still hand clasped around the blade, Gladiolus quickly took over. "Noct, press the wound at the edges. Try to squeeze it out. Prompto, hold his legs!" he spelled his orders as Ignis started struggling. A bundle of blind instincts, fear overriding the brain with the urge to save himself from this unknown enemy.

"Gotcha!" Prompto jolted into action, throwing his light weight over Ignis' shins to steady him. Even when severely wounded, the man was strong, and the adrenaline and the drive to escape fueled his rising panic. It took all Prompto had to keep Ignis from kicking him off him.

"Iggy! Iggy, stop struggling. We gotta clean your wound." The man calmed down a little at the sound of a familiar voice, but panic still raged through him and he couldn't help the reflex to struggle. The deep frown of anguish and confusion spoke volumes of his state.

"Wh- where am I?!"

"In the wild. Your wound got infected. We need to clean it." He watched keenly as the words sunk, understanding taking the edge off his panic. He stilled, still tense but no longer fighting. His teeth were bared in a silent snarl as the stinging pain tore through his chest.

When Prompto was sure the man had ceased his trashing, he stole a glance at the wound, and immediately wished he hadn't. He had to force back a gag. It was like a scene from any of his splatter horror movies, except that it was no movie. This was very real and the desperation lacing every single detail was very, very much present.

"It's not stopping!" Noct's tone was urgent, desperate, panicked. The deep eyes were pleading as they searched the amber for the answers.

"Take it easy, Noct," Gladio's zen tone cut through the chaos. "It's good to get it out. Just keep pressing it, it'll stop." He waited patiently to make sure the other had calmed down before turning his attention to the heavily panting strategist. "Iggy. I'm sorry but this's the only way. I'm gonna clean your wound with the Antidote. It's gonna hurt like hell. You ready?"

The shield wasn't sure if Ignis had grasped what he had told him. Nevertheless, he allowed the other a moment to brace, then went to pour the Antidote into the incision.

Ignis immediately arched as the liquid burned his maimed flesh. A scream tore out of his throat, and he struggled violently as his instincts flared again, each fiber in him screaming for him to run. Fighting his restrainers, he trashed as a wave after wave of fire scorched him.

"Ignis…! Dammit, Specs, hold still!" Noctis muttered almost pleadingly as he held him down, but Ignis was too far gone for words; so preoccupied with agony that he was reduced into the most basic particles of humanity. He was like a cornered animal: scared out of his wits; a mindless pile of flesh and instincts, and they were urging him to fight, to fight for his life.

It took agony. It took remorse. Ignis' pained moans and gasps of breath had them praying he would pass out. It would have been mercy. The Antidote brought out a vile stream of mucus: blood mixed with pus. There was so much of it! They emptied vial after vial, struggling, hoping beyond hope that it would be enough.

His voice quickly became raw and hoarse with screaming. He hadn't been in his top form to begin with; it didn't take much to wear the strategist out. It didn't stop the pain rasping out of his torn throat, however. They couldn't help him. All that the others could do was hope that this was over soon.

It all became too much for Ignis as Gladio poured the last drops of the second vial. With a tortured whine he went limp as blackness whisked him away. Prompto released a long overdue breath. "I never wanna do that again!" he half-gasped.

"Tough titty. There's no way of knowing if just one rinse with the Antidote's gonna be enough. We might have to do this again."

"You sure know how to bring a man down, dude," Prompto exasperated. "Look at him! He won't survive another round! Hell, we're not gonna survive another round!"

"Prompto..." Noctis' tone was demanding him to cool it. "You're not helpin'." The gunslinger looked like he wanted to spit something out, but realized what it would have sounded like and shut up with a frustrated huff.

The wound had slowed down significantly but his life force was still seeping out of the strategist steadily. Noctis had done his best to press it, mentally willing it to stop the bleeding, but small streaks of it still ran down Ignis' arm and dripped onto his jacket. "Uh, big guy?! A little help?"

"Hmph. You cut deep." It wasn't exactly an accusation but it wasn't a mere statement either. Prompto saw the flash of mortification before the prince turned to hide his face, and glared daggers at the larger man. He wasn't sure if that'd been just a slip-up, a blurt, or if the big guy had actually meant to stab Noct with it. And even if it had been intentional, it wouldn't have been anything new. Prompto hated the tension that had come to settle between Noct and Gladio. The two couldn't spend a day next to each other without a fight nowadays, and if they thought it didn't affect, well, it did. Prompto could see it. That every day it tore their group apart more. And right now, right now was a pretty bad timing for their lovers' quarrel!

The cap of the last Antidote vial came off with a snappy pop. The men's eyes were captivated by the sight of the turquoise liquid sizzling as it washed away the grime, burned to purify what was soiled. It was a generous splash, but it was merely the dark man's intention to clean the last of it before he motioned for Prompto. "You mind sparing that band of yours?"

Visibly flinching the blond took a moment to comprehend what was being asked of him. Initial shock and rejection flashed on his face before it melted into acceptance and resignation. "Yeah, suppose four-eyes needs it more than I do now." With a sad smile he almost ceremoniously took off his bandanna and handed it over. With a nod of acknowledgement as a thank you, the large man tightened it around Ignis' arm. Prompto eyed his ruined garment longingly. He would have to burn it afterwards.

"Thanks," Noctis muttered as the disturbing-looking incision disappeared under layers of fabric. His gaze rested on the band for a while before he pushed himself up and went to wipe his hands onto his jacket, the action leaving behind crimson stamps he seemed determined to ignore.

No-one said anything for a while. The aftermath of what they had just done darkened the mood; no one felt like talking. The temperature was rising and with it, more of the stale swampland air floated into their senses. The reek of rot suddenly felt more intense than before; the atmosphere was quickly turning into sweaty, pressing and awkward to everybody.

After a small eternity, Prompto broke the silence. "So, how should we do this, Noct?"

The prince didn't reply immediately. His eyes went over the landscape: swampy puddles, steep cliffs, and not a few miles down the meager path, the pile of junk they were headed for. It was bathing in the sun rays that filtered through the thin layer of fog, the paint glimmering beautifully where it was spared by rust. The sight was nothing short of majestic, and in a feeble thought he made a mental note to ask Prompto to take a picture of it.

Judging from the shadows, it was only just past noon; they would make it there, perhaps some ways back if they made haste, before the nightfall. Regrettably Noctis understood that they'd have to spend at least one more night in this god-forsaken pit, but that couldn't be helped. He considered Ignis, considered their chances. "Hey, big guy," he called without looking at him. "You mind carrying Specs?"

"Hmph. No doubt about it," he replied with a demonstrative shoulder-roll. "So, we going then or what, Your High-ass?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Note to self: don't fanfiction and cook! Damn near burnt my lunch writing this while it was cooking… xD**

* * *

The bottom of the valley wasn't an even puddle of mud and reeds. It was a wasteland. Barren boulders as far as the eye could see; steep cliffs ready to swallow an unassuming victim at any careless, misplaced step. And somewhere in the midst of it should have been what they were looking for: a royal tomb, presumably holding one of the unique weapons wielded by Noctis' ancestors.

Heavy stress on the 'should have'.

"And it's sure to be here, right?!" Irritation shone through the young prince's voice. He supported himself against the metal structure as his feet stuck to the marshland. "Aaand that's disgusting."

"Do you see a tourist info around here? That's the best intel we have," Gladio's gruff voice sounded from the lower deck, clearly not pleased. "So keep looking."

They had reached the machinery hours ago. It was nothing like what it had looked like from the distance. First of all, it was huge. The size of three football fields in diameter, and it didn't really stand as a proud and unconquered landmark in the emptiness as they had thought. The structures were halfway collapsed and sunken into the soft wet soil, and it was difficult to navigate. From up close, the place seemed just miserable and much more fitting to the grimy surroundings.

Prompto shook his head next to him, an attempt of a chuckle leaving him. "'Come to this awesome trip with us, Prompto', they said. 'Will be fun', they said…" Noctis couldn't help a smile.

"It hasn't been that bad, has it?"

"Yeah, great. Facing off the Imperial troops, fighting gods, almost getting myself killed a few times. So yeah, totally awesome!" he smirked.

"Getting to see the lady of your dreams… you know, from a distance."

Prompto sighed a laughter. "Man, thanks for reminding me!"

"Anytime," the prince smirked at the other's expression, and kept teasing. "You should just ask her out. Once we're done here." He watched how the color flushed onto the other's face, feeling like giving himself a high-five.

"Me?! Her?" Prompto blabbed as he pointed his thumb first to himself, then to someone that wasn't there. He scratched his head as he suddenly found it difficult to look at Noctis. "I dunno, man. I mean, uh… would she even be interested?"

"Well, you never know unless you give it a try, right? Besides, she probably knows already." He rolled his eyes at the horrified slash excited expression on his friend's face. "You're not exactly being discreet about it, Prom." The gunslinger looked like a landed fish how his mouth opened and closed but, rare enough, nothing came out.

"I'm not?!" Noctis laughed a small, honest snicker.

"It's, like, Captain Obvious discreet." He patted the blond on the shoulder as he pushed past him to scan the surroundings, sighing out his disappointment as he once again came up empty-handed. He glanced at the sky; the sun was edging closer to the skyline. They could as well forget about getting anywhere near back to the previous camp before nightfall.

"Who's idea was it to site a tomb into such a pit, anyway?" he grumbled under his breath as he rounded another corner in the hopes of seeing a glimpse of the familiar sphere shape of a royal catacomb but facing only a collapsed-in flight of stairs and pile of rubble. Now if ever he wished Ignis were with them.

Gladio was carrying him in a rather rough-looking piggy back. The man hadn't come to since the episode with his wound, which Noctis was half happy, half worried about. Remembering Gladio's words of warning, each new set-back, each new disappointment clipped away a fraction of faith. If they didn't find what they were looking for reasonably soon, they'd have to turn back empty-handed. He wanted to get Ignis to the station and have him treated properly. In the hindsight, he regretted coming all the way down here, although it had been the strategist's wish. He had thought that this would be like the past tombs: a quick there-and-back-again, nice and easy. They hadn't accounted for the place to be this run-down and almost downright inaccessible. 'If this even is the place,' he reminded himself, forcing down the urge to punch something as his frustration tried to get the best of him.

"Hey! I found something!" the deep voice came from somewhere below them. His spirits rose a little as they exchanged an excited look with Prompto, then dashed towards a set of stairs. But as they reached the survivalist, the excitement turned into bafflement.

"What's that?" The shield gave the younger man a look that spoke volumes.

"What does it look like? It's a control panel." Noctis shot him with a heated look of his own, but before he had time to say anything, Prompto interrupted.

"I might know how to play this piano." He climbed onto the deck and crouched in front of it and flicked a few switches. Soon after he cursed under his breath. "Good news: I think it's the controls to the security doors around here. Bad news: it's dead. Probably has been since Gladio's been ugly."

"Hey!"

"Great… I thought we were onto something here." Shaking his head the prince turned back to his previous direction. "Let's keep looking."

"Gotcha!"

"Don't wander off too far, Noct! We don't need to end up having to save your ass, too!" The younger man didn't need to see him to know: the disapproving squint of his eyes was audible in Gladio's voice. He dismissed it with a shrug.

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I mean it, Noct."

"Maybe you should save it and just focus on finding that tomb," he spoke more to himself but not caring if the other heard it. If he did, Gladio didn't announce it but Noct could feel the scrutinizing eyes on him. He huffed in irritation; 'give him a break, already! Since when had he become that untrustworthy?'

'Since what happened to Ignis', his mind supplied him with the information. Since then Gladio had been on his back constantly. He gulped a little at a guilty pang in his chest as he understood it wasn't entirely undeserved either, which soured his mood more. It was misinterpreted by someone.

"Something on your mind, Noct?" came Prompto's questioning voice; he felt a hand on his shoulder and his train of thought crashed into a brick wall.

"Nah. Just thinking, I guess," he shrugged it off lightly.

"You sure? You kinda had this look…" he trailed off, as if he was unsure how to go on.

"What look?"

"Like, you know, like you wanted to go all Armiger on some poor bastard?"

Blinking a little, Noctis read the silent question in the sky eyes. It spelled worry.

"I'm fine." Prompto's expression made it clear he didn't buy it for a second. For a moment, he simply gazed at the darker blue, as if trying to read something behind those pools, and then he backed away.

"If you say so, dude." He flashed a brief, sympathetic smile. The gunslinger had most of his weight on his back leg and a hand resting on his jutted hip as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "C'mon, Noct! Let's go find ourselves one royal resting place!" The prince chuckled.

"You're not supposed to sound excited about it."

"Getting out of here is what excites me! The faster the better."

"Tell me about it. This place gives me the creeps."

They followed the frame of the construction with hasty steps. Gladiolus was pacing some ways ahead of them, the out-cold strategist hanging limply on his back. The shield didn't seem bothered by his weight at all. Suddenly he looked like he had seen something and held an arm up. "There's something down there!"

Remembering the previous "discovery", Noctis reminded himself not to get his hopes up yet, but dashed after the dark man, Prompto at his heels.

The path started to descend and seemed to curve to the right. Careful not to slip on the wet rock, they trotted down the steep hillside, Noctis in the front, Gladio taking the rear. They didn't need to go far.

"Well isn't this peachy?" Prompto huffed under his breath.

"No kiddin'."

It looked like a power arm or a sliding plate or something of the sorts. There were hydraulic joints and rotating gears on its sides. It was leaning to the ground in an odd angle, but otherwise it looked intact. Nevertheless, it was blocking their way.

"Any chance of going around it?" Noctis mused as he paced around the structure, looking for a detour or a passable crack, anything. He came up with nothing. All the holes he found were see-through only, too small for a man to pass through. Well, Prompto maybe, but those holes wouldn't fit himself, not to mention Gladio. But he had this unexplainable hunch they were on the right track; a deep desire to overcome this obstacle ignited in him. And if there was a will, there would be a way, right?

"'Don't see any. Prompto, any luck?"

The blond shook his head defeatedly. "Looks like we're stuck here, fellas."

"No, we're not," Noctis spoke determinedly. "Maybe we can move it. You think it'd still work if we got the engine running?"

"Well, it looks pretty much alright, so yeah, suppose it could. But…"

"But what?"

"Dude, the power! It's dead, remember?"

"Then let's restart it! There has to be a backup."

Prompto didn't look assured; he let out a breath. "You're sure about this? We don't even know what's behind that thing. Could be another dead-end."

"I do. It's there, I know it."

Gladio had been observing, his look one of critical analysis as he listened to them, but now his tone was questioning. "And just how do you think you know that, Noct? Prompto's right, it could be a waste of time."

"Or it could not be. I just have this feeling it's there. We can at least try, and it's not like we'd have anything better to go with." He cast a challenging look at the others: if anyone else wanted to question him, let him speak now or forever hold his peace. One after another the men nodded their acceptance. "Let's go then."

They returned hastily to the control panel and Prompto went to study it carefully. Soon,

"Ha-haa!"

"Got something there, choco-boy?" Gladio smirked openly at the other's expression.

"I've told you, like, a thousand times not to call me that! And yes, as a matter of fact, I did," he pouted a little.

"So, what now?" Noctis urged, sounding probably more impatient than he would've liked, but he wanted to get this done and get out of here, all joking aside.

"Well, according to these circuit diagrams, there's a backup generator unit located close-by. In that direction, maybe?" Prompto pointed at the direction they had come from when they had descended the hill earlier that day; Noctis frowned a little. How could they've missed it on their way down?

"You sure?"

"Positive. It's not like these diagrams are exact or anything, but if it's drawn to the right of the main power source, then it is to the right of the main power source. It could be some ways right, though." Sighing, Noctis accepted that answer.

"If you say so." He was already heading for that direction. Behind his back, Gladiolus shook his head with a disapproving look on his face before trotting after him.

* * *

Prompto had been right. It was some ways to the right. It was more than a mile to the right, and Noctis begun to believe his friend had been mistaken until he caught a glimpse of the flight of stairs, and he understood why they had missed it earlier. Looking down from the path, the machinery obscured the stairs from view. It was almost like they had been stashed behind the construction in an attempt to conceal them. "I've got something!" He heard two sets of running steps splashing closer in the ankle-high water.

"Is that it?"

"Should be."

"Then don't stop. We're running out of time," Gladiolus pushed past them. Noctis' temper flared but he controlled himself before he could snap anything he might regret. He understood the bodyguard's haste – hell, he wasn't happy about their delay himself – but what got to him was the man's tone. It was as if he had scolded a little kid: demeaning.

The long unused grates cried under their feet as they stomped silently. Noctis was still seething, but the others pretended not to notice it. The sooner they'd get this done, he thought, the sooner they'd be out of here and back on track on their way to Gralea once Ignis had recovered. The sooner the better, because swear to Shiva, if he'd have to deal with Gladio's shit for much longer, he might end up doing something drastic.

The backup generator looked as worn-down and out of order as everything else in the midst of the abandonment. Eyeing all the switches, gears and doohickeys with little understanding what each of them was for, the dark one frowned as he gestured for Prompto.

The blond looked almost excited as he stepped closer. "Let's see here…" He flicked a few switches, turned a handle, and stepped back. "Alright. It's either gonna work, or then it's gonna overload the circuit and fry the entire thing in one neat blast." Prompto's smile was tight. The others' expressions were incredulous.

"I hope you're joking," Gladio grunted. The gunslinger's face was enough for an answer.

Noctis gulped. "This'd better work." He turned the switch.

The machinery became alive under his touch. A set of lights flickered alight and a reassuringly increasing hum of electricity sounded from the generator. "Wohoo! And we're on, baby!" Prompto cheered and threw Noctis a high-five.

"Might not have it for long, though. Hurry up and move the machine." Gladiolus was already going back down the stairs. Noctis rolled his eyes.

"Yes, sir." His voice was dripping sarcasm as he, too, headed down.

* * *

The equipment glowed in the last rays of the setting sun like a hot coal. In the distance, they could hear the screeching movement of massive machinery as black smoke puffed out of the long-cold pipes. The force of it shook the earth.

"Alright! Let's go." Excitement bubbled in his voice as the prince started to head for the path down the slope, but was stopped dead on his tracks by a stern hand on his shoulder.

"Hold your horses, kiddo. It's getting dark soon. We should camp and rest, and wait until morning." The dark eyes widened a little at the unexpected attempt to persuade him.

"Yeah, but…"

"But what? With the demons coming out soon, it's not safe down there." Then he added more gently. "Plus, we can't take Iggy down there like this."

One glance at Ignis' oblivious face, and Noctis knew he had lost. Much as he had wanted to, he knew there was no way he could justify bringing Ignis along when it was dark. Leaving him behind was out of the question as well. His posture slumped a little as he huffed a resigned sigh. "Fine." The shield didn't protest as Noctis shrugged his hand off.

They settled to sleep on a nearby cliff. It was dry bedrock and reasonably high should the local beasts develop a taste for man flesh. The dusk had matured into full-bodied darkness by the time they had set up the tent and made a fire.

Ignis came to with a small grunt. He was lying close to the fire, the flames making the shadows dance over his strong features. Prompto was the first to notice the twitch of a hand that soon became attempts at movement, and the others were quick to be by their side.

"We've got you, Specs," the prince consoled, resting a hand on Ignis' good shoulder; the adviser visibly relaxed at the notion of familiarity.

"How- how long was I insentient?" he croaked.

"Half a day. How you feelin'?"

A ghost of a smirk visited Ignis' lips briefly. "Like… I have encountered… a dualhorn stampede."

"How much do you remember?" Gladiolus chose his words carefully. At that, the man's face darkened.

"Pain, regrettably."

"Your wound got infected. We needed to rinse it… with Antidote."

"I see," Ignis' frown didn't tell if the man was pleased or displeased to hear it. Sensing the shift in the atmosphere, Noctis felt like changing the subject,

"You feel like eating?" he asked hopefully, and thankfully the smile returned among Ignis' pained features.

"I should… love to, actually." He held a small pause. "Thank you, Noct." The adviser made an attempt to sit up; like it'd have been an instinct, Prompto leaped to help him to sit up with his legs crossed.

"I'm afraid it's the choice of cup noodles or cup noodles tonight, ol' pal," Gladio chuckled a bit sheepishly as he guided the carton into his good hand. Ignis snorted, but it was mainly in amusement.

"Do you think you can eat by yourself?" Prompto asked with a hint of hesitation in his voice. The smallest of frowns appeared between the neat eyebrows; the sole indication of Ignis' irritation. His voice betrayed the will to salvage the rest of his dignity as he said,

"Thank you, Prompto, I'll manage." As if he was proving a point, he maneuvered in the first mouthful. A faint blush rose to the blond's cheeks and he had to look away.

They ate in relative silence, Ignis taking far longer than most of them, but it was understandable and no one made a comment about it. Soon after Gladiolus fixed a stern look at the lighter brunet. As if sensing it, Ignis turned to the direction of the gaze. At this point the others noticed it, too, as they too stilled to see this through.

"Iggy, lemme see it."

Looking like someone had held a fresh pile of dung under his nose, Ignis' nose turned up at the realization of the other's intention. Reluctantly he offered his shoulder.

As carefully as he could Gladiolus peeled the bandanna off the wound. Noctis' heart rate had gone up, and Prompto tried to peer over the large man's shoulder nervously. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Gladio's tense shoulders relaxed in contentment.

The wound wasn't that bad. It was still raw-looking and clearly hurt a lot, but at least it wasn't any worse than before. It had stopped seeping, too. And the fact that the strategist seemed to be in better spirits was good news. Gladio released a breath he hadn't noticed he had held. "Looks like it did something after all."

"Glad to hear… that torment… hasn't been for naught," Ignis noted, smirking a little although he winced a little.

"You're gonna be fine, four-eyes!" Prompto cheered as he smacked Ignis friendly across the back, causing the other to yelp in surprise as he nearly toppled over. Ignis' counter was a snappy elbow which hit his arm. Their awkward exchange of playful punches escalated into a wrestling match as Noctis hopped in to tackle Prompto onto his stomach to the ground. After a small struggle, someone brought in the tickles. They ended up into a sprawled heap, all of them laughing hysterically.

* * *

Noctis couldn't believe this. This went against everything he believed of himself. Again he had ended up staring at the roof of their tent idly, his mind refusing the sleep his worn-out body so desperately desired. Knowing his love for sleeping, it was almost obscene.

Further in the darkness, Gladiolus made a snorting sound and shifted. Ignis was lying next to him, having claimed that he felt good enough to sleep in the tent instead of staying close to the fire with Prompto, who had agreed to take the first watch. Noctis glanced at him but paid no more heed.

His mind was in the shadowy depths of the cavern. What they were looking for would await them there, he knew it. He couldn't explain why but for some reason he just had this feeling; it was almost like a calling. It felt weird but for some reason he had never been this sure of anything in his life. He sighed in frustration. It was there – and he was stuck here until the morning.

If only they'd have just gone and got it! It'd be done already and they could head back to the station first thing in the morning. Despite being happy about Ignis' condition improving, of course, the prince still didn't feel good about staying in the valley for any longer than was absolutely necessary. He wanted to be done with this – "riffraff", he heard the adviser's voice in his head and chuckled – and to get back to some resemblance of civilization.

But it wasn't going to happen tomorrow, either. Their trip to the tomb would most likely spend too much time to make it back to the station in one trek, even if they tried to push it. Which was out of the question. Ignis felt better but was still long ways from being able to make that distance in one day. And again conscious, he would never allow himself to be carried. No, they would have to take it slow. Which meant one more night outdoors. One more night in this stinking hole! Unless…

His eyes widened as an idea came to him, and he had to stifle a gasp. It was so ludicrous of an idea, so delusional that he knew he shouldn't even finish it. He should downright scrap it and never consider it again. But… so much of it was so tempting to him at that moment.

He could just go and find the tomb on his own.

He gasped lightly; suddenly it made so much sense, felt so obvious he blamed himself for not thinking about it sooner. The path was open, he had the key to the tomb. And let's face it, he was really the only one who needed to go in to retrieve the royal arm, anyway. He knew the others would never approve. He chuckled darkly as he imagined even mentioning this; Gladio would throw a fit, and Ignis would just about eat him alive. But it would save them so much time and effort! If he left now, he could be back before daybreak. Yes, it would be dark outside; yes, it could be dangerous; but it wasn't like he couldn't fend for himself! And he could always just run if things looked like he was in too deep. The more he thought about it, the more riled up he got. Sleep now totally forgotten, Noctis got up as quietly as he managed and got dressed.

As he climbed out of the tent, he stopped to question his idea. Was he doing the right thing? Or was this just insane? He knew the answers to both of those questions: they were "yes" and "most definitely".

Prompto hadn't noticed him as he sat by the fire, his back towards him and posture hunched over. His attention seemed to be on something he held in his hands, and silently Noctis hoped that something would keep his attention for a while. He felt like a burglar as he tiptoed further from their camp, one step at a time, watching Prompto's every movement like a hawk. Only when he was sure his friend couldn't see him anymore did the prince turn to sprint into the darkness, the light of his flashlight soon disappearing behind the cliffs.

* * *

 **AN2:**

 **I just made Noctis a complete retard, lol.  
**

 **I promise there's a point to that. :D**

 **I had to tweak some details a little, for obvious reasons. It's actually Ignis' idea to move the machinery out of the way, but I tried to build it up so that it makes sense like this, too.**

 **I didn't have the heart to torture Iggy any longer. But take note, he's by no means alright yet. I just wanted to give them some love. Because they deserve it.**


	6. Chapter 6

The undergrowth caressed his legs gently as he moved in the darkness, silently like a prowling beast. Noctis hardly dared to breathe as he froze to inspect every sound or each shifting shadow. Mentally he scolded himself for being this jumpy.

He splish-splashed across the small river and got onto the path that would eventually descend down the moss enveloped hillside. There he stopped, however, to take the last glance towards their camp. He imagined Prompto still sitting by the fire, more focused on what must have been either his camera or his guns than actually watching the camp, and he smiled a little.

He didn't think they had noticed that he was gone yet. He could still go back and pretend this never happened. 'And waste another day before we can get out of here', he thought. But he wasn't going to.

It had never been in his nature to stand idly at the sidelines. Noctis acted first, thought second, and worried about the consequences later.

With a deep breath, the prince steeled his heart and turned his back to the campground as he started the descent on the slippery rocky path.

* * *

Low battery.

The red caution icon flashed irritably across his screen; in the background, the app sounded a melancholic fanfare as his King's Knight character died when he wasn't attending to it. Prompto moaned an irritated groan as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

Small particles of light danced in the heat rising from the embers; Prompto let his lazy gaze follow them until they cooled off and faded into the surrounding darkness. A shy smile curved the edges of his thin lips and he dug out his camera to scroll through his latest shots.

There was the picture of the machinery Noctis had requested. Pretty damn nice shot, dare he say so himself. Especially the soft lighting had been spot-on. And then there was that one he took at the station: a landscape over the mine valley. 'Doesn't really represent the reality,' Prompto thought a bit bitterly.

He kept scrolling; there were a few other landscapes he had snapped from the train, but not that many of people. He hadn't really felt like taking pictures of them lately. But as he got to one shot of all four of them, posing with arms thrown over each other's' shoulders, his finger froze, and he didn't smile anymore.

It had been their first night in Altissia. The exuberant city's grandiose facade opened behind them majestically like an icon of sophistication. And they all looked so dazzled, so excited. So happy. Prompto let out a shuddering sigh that, if you didn't know better, could have been mistaken to be a sob.

That was from two days before the summoning. Before the havoc. It was like seeing into another dimension, into a world which was both familiar and foreign and strange at the same time. Prompto recognized every single detail, and yet they felt so distant, so far off that he almost had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

It had been different. They had been different. They had been like a pack of wolves: inseparable, a team. Hell, a family. Now they were just... falling apart, and Prompto didn't know how they could fix it. How had that happened?! His eyes stung as he looked at their smirking faces on the small screen of the camera. Noct had been so excited to finally get to be with Luna. Ignis still had his eyes.

It was them, but it was another them. The uncorrupted-by-the-horror-they-had-gone-through them. The unconsumed-by-their-own-grief them. The same, and yet not at all the same. Those them in the picture had died that day. He took a few deep breaths to will away the treacherous moisture as he turned his gaze into the blackened-out sky.

If you had told Prompto a year ago that he would be among the ones fighting for the liberty of Insomnia, he would have laughed. If you had told him that he would be risking his life in battle for way more times he could count, he wouldn't have believed. Even now it seemed incredulous how far they had come together, how far Prompto himself had come with them, and even more so when he imagined what would be waiting for them once they reached Gralea.

If they reached Gralea.

It seemed less likely every day. The passive-to-the-point-of-being-almost-phlegmatic attitude Noct was presenting, and Gladio constantly pushing his buttons, was doing little to advance their goal. If anything, it was draining their morale rather quickly. 'What was it that kept them going,' he wondered. It certainly wasn't any ludicrous, chivalric ideal to rush into the enemy stronghold and crush the opposition. No, that delusion had crumbled long ago.

Prompto just didn't know anymore. Not looking at the pictures any more, he shut down his camera and breathed a shaky breath. More light particles flew into the night as the smoke rose towards the starless sky.

* * *

"Uah!" It took less than a blink. Noctis' foot slipped on the moist moss; instinctively he threw his arms back to balance himself as his footing morphed into free-fall. At the last possible moment, his hand met solid rock and he pressed himself flat against the wall. Panting heavily, he stilled to recompose.

With a final huff, he pushed himself off the stone. The path had gotten much steeper than he had thought and the ground seemed moister, mud-like. And the darkness did little to help; despite his flashlight, it was difficult to see more than a few feet around him. But if he wasn't mistaken, he saw even ground ahead.

What he failed to see, however, were the steadily moving ripples on the water. The sharp eyes that keenly observed his every move inched closer and closer in dead quiet.

* * *

 _Ti-ti-di didi-didi di-di-dii dii-dii-didi-dii-dii-dii…_

The melody snapped Prompto from his thoughts; his eyes searched frantically for the source of the disturbance, until the rhythmic buzzing against his thigh finally registered and, grunting a little in embarrassment, he fished out his flashing phone to silence the timer.

"Alright!" he grinned as he stretched a little and got up from his place by the fire. It was stupid-o'clock in the night and he was just about ready to let Gladio take over and bunk. His steps faltered ever so slightly as he made it to their tent. But as he opened the curtain and was about to crawl in, he noticed that something looked weird. The insides of the tent looked awfully… spacious.

He gulped audibly as it clicked.

"Noct?" Not wanting to believe his eyes, Prompto crawled all the way into the tent, not too careful about the other occupants. "Noct?!" he gasped a perplexed yelp, panic creeping up his spine.

"Hey. Where's the fire?" Gladiolus' soft grunt was half irritated, half joking. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger as he made to sit up. The humor was replaced by concern, however, as he laid eyes on the blond. Even in the scarce lighting of the tent, Gladio could tell that the boy was gaping, his eyes were wide and he had a look on his face that could only be described as clueless.

"Prompto… what is it?" He made a move to inch closer, but froze as something registered. He was left staring stupidly at the vacant space that should have held the prince. "What the…?"

Prompto felt his lips moving, but nothing came out. He could feel movement by his side; Ignis made soft noises as he shifted. "Is everything... alright?" The long silence and partial sounds of hesitation that couldn't quite be called communication told the strategist enough; he dragged himself into a half-rise, supporting himself on his good arm as he peered into the direction of the voices, his expression questioning.

The sky blue eyes had locked with the amber ones; their silent communication spoke of worry, of bafflement. Only as the fire-starter coughed an irritated request to be enlightened did they remember that Ignis didn't know. Choosing carefully how he should word this, Prompto hesitated. "Yeah, Ignis, uh… no reason to panic 'n all, but… Noct's gone."

Now instantly awake, Ignis got up as if he had been struck with an electric shock. And the face he made made Prompto's heart skip a beat. He would never know how Ignis knew he was exactly where he was, but the strategist fixed him with a stare so stern, so focused, and so thoroughly scorching that for a moment the gunslinger felt like he was looking straight into his soul. It was a look of pure demanding.

Ignis' tone was a freezing hiss. "His Highness is _what_?!"

* * *

One second. That was all the time Noctis had to react to the splashing sounds and the thumping that charged at him from the darkness. He spun to the direction of the sounds just in time for his flashlight to illuminate the scaled skin and the rows of teeth before he was thrown to the ground, a heavy weight landing not two feet from him. As he scampered back onto his feet and backwards, he simultaneously heard the other creatures closing in on them; the one that had attacked him had re-positioned itself and tried to snap him into its jaws. An ache ran along his arm.

"Ah!" His heart rate skyrocketed; adrenaline erupted into his bloodstream as he summoned his spear. In the feeble light, he saw the scales, the jaws, the fins.

'Gurangatches. Of all things they had to be gurangatches!' he gulped as he backed away blindly. These crocodile-slash-man-eaters weren't funny things to face under the best of circumstances, and at the moment the conditions for fighting these creatures were less than ideal. On unfamiliar ground and alone, blessed only with the visibility provided by his flashlight, Noctis knew he was in serious trouble. Sparing a glance at his throbbing arm, he noted the long scratch. It stung quite a bit, but it didn't seem deep. With a heavy intake of breath, he tried to close out the intensifying throbbing in his ears – and lunged.

The animal closest to him let out a screeching roar when he drove the spear into the soft flesh of the belly. Before it had time to pull him along into its trashing, Noctis tore the weapon out, only to result to magic to avoid a leap at his torso. The jaws snapped closed with nothing but air in between them; the baffled animal stilled for long enough for the young man to jump over it and out of the harm's immediate way.

He could see all of them now. Five animals were stalking closer; the one Noctis had struck was still trashing and effectively neutralized, but it wouldn't be for long. The wound hadn't been lethal. Crippling at best. He jumped to dodge a set of jaws as one of them rushed to take out his arm and thrust upwards. A hot spurt of a thick substance struck his face; instinctively, he twisted the weapon, tearing the flesh as the animal trashed, only hurting itself more as the spear sunk deeper. Noctis abandoned the javelin as he saw movement in the corner of his eye, and his greatsword materialized just in time to parry the oncoming attack and direct it aside. The derailed crocodile fell into the muddy ground with a heavy thump, and he didn't waste his chance. He called a pistol and fired at point-blank: four times at the creature's eyes. The agonized animal trashed its head, roaring wildly before slumping.

Through the mayhem he still heard it: the stalking movement to his right tried to circle behind him. A self-satisfied smirk curved his lips. If the animal thought it could outwit him in the darkness, it had been sadly mistaken. Using the combined force of his own strength and momentum, Noctis twisted his whole body to swing the blade in a mighty arc. The leathery, crushing crunch that resulted as the blade buried itself into the creature's shoulder sent tingles of excitement through his core.

It screeched rasped sounds as it fell onto its stomach and tried to wriggle away from the human. The engine blade found its way into his hand as the man was already moving. Nostis landed hastily just behind the creature's trashing head, and flexing his entire core, he plunged the blade almost half-way into the beast's neck, severing the cervical vertebrae. He clenched the handle with both hands, knuckles white, until he felt the tremors beneath him ceasing.

It had been a mistake.

The blow landed straight into his back. It struck the air out of his lungs in one strangled gasp as he was thrown forward and into the ground; the sword fell from his hand. For a critical moment he just laid there, desperately trying to force air back into his abused lungs.

He felt rather than heard the creature leaping towards him. He rolled blindly out of the way, but didn't get far. The rows of teeth met air where his neck had been a mere instant ago, but the sudden crushing pressure on his lower body effectively trapped him on his back in the ground, the heavy animal halfway on top of him.

His lungs burned in lack of oxygen. A reflex pulled the greatsword from the aether to shield him as the creature dove to finish him. The weight crashed against his defenses like a megaton hammer; Noctis' arms buckled under the blade as he fought to hold it against the creature's ferocious jaws. Wisps of lightheadedness swam in and out of his mind as he struggled to free himself, but it was a futile effort. "No…!" 'No! No, not now!'

A gasp of pain tore from him as the creature's claws scraped his side. It drove against the blade in an effort to smash it, and Noctis snarled as he felt his strength draining. Dizzy with fear and something else surging through his panicked body, he struggled fiercely to free himself. Darkness loomed at the edges of his vision, threatening to take him. He fought it, willed his strength to stay with him. But he felt his limbs growing weaker as the beast slammed itself against his last line of defense before those deadly jaws. The last thing he saw before white hot agony struck him senseless was scales and teeth reaching for him over the edge of his lowered blade.

* * *

"Nooooct!"

"Noct!" The voices traveled around the surroundings of their campsite, calling, searching. Ignis sat by the dying embers, an unusual snarl twisting his features. His good arm clenched his wound a little too tightly, but the adviser didn't even notice it. As he heard nearing steps – the heavy footfalls of Gladio – he turned towards the sound expectantly.

"Anything?" Ignis' guarded tone betrayed the nervousness.

"Nothing!" There was a loud thump and a small crack as the shield punched the ground. The other furrowed his brows at him but said nothing.

Prompto returned soon after. He didn't need to say anything; his whole demeanor screamed out his disappointment. He slumped down with a concerned sigh. "Do you think he could have, you know, just gone to take a leak or something?" It was clear from his tone that the blond didn't believe in his words himself.

"Without saying anything? Not likely." The anxiousness was apparent in the gruff tone. The shield's face was focused as he peered into the darkness around their campsite and kept calling his name.

"It certainly would seem illogical," Ignis said, his solemn tone darkened. "Even of him."

"Do you think something happened to him?" the lithe man asked timidly.

"Uh'dunno, but the hotspur better not get himself killed," Gladio muttered and dug a hand through his hair in frustration. "At least not until I get my hands on him…"

Ignis flashed a sympathetic grin. "I would certainly like to give him a piece of my mind as well." He held a pause. "It is as his late Majesty used to say: Noct has always been wayward." The words were condescending, but his tone held some amusement alongside the worry. There was a smirk in the strategist's lips.

"The ol' man said it," Gladio huffed, also grinning a little as he shook his head lightly. "That reckless idiot… Did you know that when he was a little kid, he and Iris got into trouble together? He took the bullet for it, said it had been his idea. Iris later told me it had been hers."

"Dude! I didn't!" Prompto spurted a laughter. "Prince Noctis – always there to save the ladies," he sighed over-dramatically as he closed his eyes and mimicked a theater fainting.

"His own ass is what needs saving," Gladio grunted, drawing his legs crossed to sit more comfortably. "I bet he's–"

The others would never know what Gladio 'bet he was'. His voice trailed into dumbstruck silence as the world seemed to suddenly fade out into blackness that had nothing to do with the night. It was as if light had disappeared from his eyes; a shudder coursed through him.

"What the…?" Prompto's voice shook at the half-voiced mutter. Both seeing men's eyes were glued onto the skyline where an ominous purple and grey glow shone from behind the cliffs, and they could make out the roar of approaching thunderstorm.

Ignis, sensing that something was wrong, got onto his feet. "What is it?" As he got no immediate response, he demanded sternly, "What is going on?!"

"Uh…"

Against the glowing sky stood an enormous humane shape; purple lightnings struck the clouds around it as it seemed to move. The monstrous rumble of thunder resonated in the walls of the valley, coursing through them like a bass boost at a nightclub, shaking their very core. Flashes of pure energy danced in the distance. Then the world exploded as a tremendous thunderbolt struck the earth.

The deep sound made their hearts skip a beat, it took their breaths away. The force of it left their hands shaking as the hairs in their necks stood. Their breaths came in deep pants.

"Wa-" Prompto had to cough to stop his voice from shaking. "Was that…?!"

"It was, alright. The Fulgurian." Gladio's eyes were wide, tone disbelieving. There was a hitch of breath.

"Noct…!"

"Let's go!"

* * *

The entire world had a rosy purple tint to it. Noctis eyed the destruction around him through half-lidded eyes, panting and clutching his scraped arm. The swamp was on fire; the devastation of the Astral's fury had seared everything, leaving plants and logs charring as the embers still smoldered around him. The stench of burning flesh and leathery skin made his eyes water with disgust, and he dry-heaved a couple of times. The only sounds he heard were the last crackles of electricity dancing in the area, and his own ragged breaths. There were no birds, no ripples of water. No signs of life other than those he made himself.

His legs were numb and shaky under him. The summoning had taken the last of him: that, and his lack of sleep and continued overload of stress and grief finally seemed to catch up to him in one neat, destructive bunch. As his pulse gradually eased back to normal and the adrenaline drained from him, he found himself only that much from collapsing. With sheer willpower, he dragged himself onto the now charred grasses uphill from the waterfront, and slumped.

His cheek met the scorched earth roughly. Couching a little, he drew in shaky pants as his worn-out body sprawled onto the dead flora. 'Can't… sleep,' he tried to scream at himself as his eyes fluttered dangerously. 'Must… stay awake. Must… go…' He tried to make a move to sit up, but nothing obeyed as he felt his body shutting down. He struggled against the sweet, seductive embrace of sleep. But he was so exhausted! Sleep felt so inviting. As the oblivion came, he welcomed it like an old friend.

* * *

 **AN: When I was writing the rough draft of this, I was to my beta reader like, "I'm gonna finish this [story] in two chapters." Yeah, as if. :D As it turns out, it's gonna take more than that. But it's drawing to end, not sure if its gonna be two or three more. Thank you for staying with me! Your love for Collision has made me so happy! I'm so glad you're liking it. ^.^**

 **I had so much fun writing another battle scene! And haha, you also get a pretty good idea of my preferred weapons load. I tend to use a lot of magic, too. What weaponry do you guys like to use?**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Oh my gosh, I've been so excited to get to see the content of the Gladio DLC. And after playing that, I understand even better why Gladio's so frustrated with Noct in this part of the game. Gladio be like, "I didn't go through that s-h-i-t only to deal with this one!" :D 'Cause yeah. Let's be honest, I really wanted to smack both of them at that point of the game.**

 **Alright, that said, let's go! A few people have told me they've been looking forward to this. This chewing, lol. I hope I delivered. I'm planning on this to be the second-to-last chapter of Collision; I'm currently writing the ending. It's the part I've been waiting to get to write since Ignis' injury. Thanks for your response to Collision! I've been overwhelmed by your love for it. :3**

 **Have you listened to that Dynazty song? If not, I suggest you give it a go. It's pretty much an ear-gasm, anyway. Plus, the vocalist is super-cute!**

* * *

 _Welcome to my attraction_

 _One step in the wrong direction_

 _One choice is all you have to make_

 _One ride and the world is ours to take_

 _You're treading a thin red line_

 _When you're trying to read my mind_

 _In here the world ain't black or white_

 _No rules apply, no wrongs or rights_

 _. . ._

 _Can you really tell me what is right or wrong_

 _When they're two sides of the same coin_

 _Viewed in different ways_

 _The human paradox_

 _Step right into pandemonium_

 _Welcome to my delirium_

 _My human paradox_

 _The human paradox_

 _. . ._

Dynazty – Human Paradox

* * *

Hasty footfalls struggled to maintain their balance on the unknown terrain. He couldn't help fumbling, though, much to his displeasure. The adviser winced as a jolt of pain coursed through his chest when an invisible hand grabbed a sturdy hold of his injured arm. Ignis inwardly frowned; he acknowledged the other with a stiff nod that was supposed to assure him that he was managing.

"You holdin' up ok?" Ignis' brows furrowed; he had picked up the doubt the other had probably tried to keep in check.

To accentuate his spat words, Ignis jerked his arm free, gasping a little but mostly ignoring the stab of pain it brought. "I would appreciate it if you stopped pestering me. As you can see, I'm not dead and I can assure you I have no intention of becoming so!"

"Drop it, Iggy. You're injured pretty bad. Tryin' to downplay it is beneath you." The older man didn't seem phased. In fact, he sounded almost amused. The strategist looked like he wanted to counter, and he probably would have if his stick hadn't chosen that exact moment to stick itself into a hole. He lost his footing; an agonized yelp he couldn't quite stop sounded as he stumbled injury first against Gladio. "Hmph. See?"

"We don't have time for this," he spat as he fought himself to stand on his own again, but fumbled at a sudden feeling of light-headedness. He subconsciously placed a hand on Gladio's chest for support as his dark world spun.

"Shut up."

"Uh?"

"Don't give me that 'uh'. You hurtin' yourself more ain't gonna help Noct." The hazel blond was about to protest, but Gladio beat him to it. "Prompto's out there. Have a little faith in the kid."

Ignis looked like he had been slapped. Getting scolded like this didn't sit well with him. And neither did the dark knot twisting his insides. Ignis had a very bad feeling about this.

"... Do you think he's alright?" Unbeknownst to the strategist, the other made a face that quite clearly read 'bitch, please'.

"This's Noct we're talkin' about. It's not like this'd be the first time he gets himself into trouble." Brave words, but overshadowed by anticipation. Now it was Ignis' turn to smirk.

"I'm glad to know you realize the implications of that statement yourself." Gladio snorted.

"Yeah… What a hothead." He had been walking Ignis all the time, supporting him but only lightly. Only as much as Ignis allowed. He let the man have his space, although he would've wanted to pick up the pace. They were now nearing the place where they had found the control panel, and something just told Gladio they weren't far off.

He just hoped they wouldn't be too late.

"Noct's not too bad with the sword, you know. Besides, the Fulgurian just blasted half the valley into ashes, so I bet he's doin' fine."

He just hoped he was right.

Ignis looked tense. "Exactly."

"Huh?"

"I'm afraid it is the Fulgurian that troubles me. The Six usually never make an appearance unless it is a dire emergency." The large jaw tightened. He understood exactly what Ignis wasn't saying.

He just hoped it hadn't been too dire.

The mud under their feet squished with excess moisture as their boots stuck a little on every step. Ignis' moving was even slower, and Gladio had to bite his lip to not make a comment about it. He could see the other was already trying his best: the focused look was laced with exhaustion, pain and desperation as the man tried to pick up his pace; there was no way Gladio could ask any more of him. The large man huffed irritably as he pulled a hand through his hair, all the way down to his neck where he held onto it, just tightly enough to send tantalizing tingles over his scalp. The sole outlet for his frustration for the time being.

Gladio didn't bother stopping to discuss which way they should head from the control panel. He had a pretty good hunch where the young man had gone, and another surge of immediate rage clenched his teeth. Damn, the kid was a handful at times!

After a way too long time for his liking, Gladio's phone rang. His heart leaped. "'S'up?"

Prompto's tone was urgent but relieved, and he spoke a hundred miles a minute. _"Dude, listen, I'm literally wastin' the last of my battery here so keep up with me?! I found him! He's down here, down that path we opened. There's this huge lake–"_ The words disappeared under a hitch of breath. _"It's dyin'! He's go–!"_ The line went dead.

"Prompto?!" All the reply he got was the busy beeping. The man let out a frustrated grunt as he nearly crushed his phone, that's how tightly he grabbed it to stuff it back into his jacket pocket.

"What did he say?!" Ignis' worry and urgency shone through his usual collected demeanor.

"He found him. I think I know where."

"How is he?"

The good news was, the gun-slinging scout had told him enough. What did leave him a little bit on the edge was the ending of their small conversation. It had sounded like the young one was about to say "good", but he couldn't say for sure.

"I dunno. It died before Prom got to it." The serious expression did implicate he wasn't satisfied with that answer. The survivalist eyed him for a moment, biting his teeth in indecisiveness. "Iggy. Where we're headed, the path gets pretty tricky. It's gonna be steep and probably bad footing." Gladio's hedging question didn't escape the strategist. He snorted, the sound making evident the inward battle of pride over reason.

"… I guess I could use the help." The tone told exactly how pleased Ignis was with the situation.

"Alright." He changed to Ignis' right – his good arm – and gently prompted the stick from his hand; then he raised the arm over his own shoulder and grabbed his waist to support him. "I've gotcha." The mutter was so quiet the other wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to hear it or not, and he chose not to reply. Instead he let himself be guided, a serious look on his face as his feet fumbled around the ground.

* * *

Noctis slowly came to as he felt a jerking motion that grew more and more vigorous the more he tried to ignore it. First to wake up was his throat, unintelligent mumbling sounds leaving him. Then came the body, and he recognized a weight and warmth next to him. The next was the hearing.

 _"-oct?!"_

It was muffled and quiet, morphed as if he had heard it through a thick glass. Ok, so maybe not the hearing after all. As the numbness of his limbs begun to register, and as the jerking motions – shakes, he gathered, shakes of his shoulder – became near frantic, his vision caught up. Cracking his lids a little the haze slowly formed colors, shapes, figures.

 _"-you hear me, man?"_

Nope. Still the glass bottle. His ears were really taking their sweet time. That voice sounded familiar, though. And that yellow color…

"-mpto?" Wow, his own voice sounded weird to him right now. He coughed to force his trachea to co-operate with him as he made a move to lift himself. He found he couldn't. Something was holding him down. Blinking his eyes back into focus, he traced the source to find Prompto's hand on his chest. He cast a questioning look at the other, finding him grinning sheepishly as he pushed him back with a little more force.

"Better not, dude. By the looks of it, you should pro'ly stay down." Shaking his head with a little snort, Noctis pushed past it and sat up, bending his knee to lean against it.

"I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like the wrong end of a something we would usually kill for the big gil." Noctis couldn't help a raspy laugh.

"That bad?"

"Let's just say I'm pretty glad it's this dark around." The lighter blue eyes shifted to something on his left, and narrowed. Noctis gulped as he caught onto what he was watching and shifted nervously to hide his arm.

"Just a scratch," he muttered, looking at his lap. Prompto's eyes had a hard glint.

"Don't lie to me, Noct. Lemme see it." He ignored the gasp and the shocked look as he grabbed a stern hold of the arm and forced it into light. He felt shudders run along the limb as he prodded the gash gently. It wasn't a clean cut, more like a tear or a rugged scrape, but luckily it wasn't that deep. Some crust had already formed on it; Prompto's lips curved into a small, shy, satisfied smile.

"You happy now?" Noctis chuckled as he took his hand back. "I think I'll live."

The smile widened into smirk. "Well, enjoy it while you can because I'm pretty sure Gladio's gonna kill you! The hell were you thinking, man? You scared us out of our wits!"

Suddenly embarrassed, Noctis averted his eyes. "I, uh…"

"Hey!" Both heads snapped at the direction of the gruff voice.

"Speak of the devil." Noctis shot his friend with a flabbergasted ogle, exasperating. There had been something eager, something impish in Prompto's tone, and Noctis understood his friend was actually looking forward to this.

'You son of a…' He knew he was gaping. It was as much inconceivable as it was darkly hilarious that Prompto was throwing him to the wolves while preparing the popcorn. And simultaneously he knew he deserved this.

Down the path was coming Gladiolus, half-supporting, half-dragging a clumsily stumbling Ignis. The lither looked like some ragdoll, dragged around like that, given up trying to feel for the ground himself and just trusting the other to lead them. There was a jab in his heart, and Noctis felt the heat rising onto his face.

"Specs…" He couldn't look at him. He simply couldn't.

"You guys OK?!"

Prompto raised a casual hand. "All cool." If that was supposed to calm the older men down, it did quite the opposite. The large man almost lifted Ignis off the ground as they struggled to rush to the others. He sat the strategist down, the man offering a court nod as a thank you, before turning his attention to Noct. The amber eyes narrowed as he scanned the young man over, settling onto the long gash running along the prince's arm. He huffed in irritation, but that, along with the hardening look in the amber, was the only indication of Gladiolus' carefully contained fury.

"Noct, are you alright?" Ignis' controlled composure was firmly back in place as he felt around the ground around him, searching for his physical position. Noctis snorted quietly before snapping his fingers as a sign and reaching over to touch the man's hand to guide him to the right direction.

Sparing a glance at Gladio's hard expression, the prince muttered, "It's nothing…" It trailed into silence as the bodyguard snorted incredulously, and Ignis' brows furrowed. It was an inquisitive look that told him Noct's answer couldn't have been formulated in a worse way.

"Gladio." Noctis blinked at the adviser's tone. It wasn't conversational, and it wasn't a question. It was an order. A single-word order.

With only a grunt, the tall man stuck a hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a Potion. Noctis jumped a little as his injured hand was grabbed, not gently, and the vial was pushed into his palm. One glance up, at the storm's eye, and decided it was best to go along with it.

"Thanks…"

He huffed quietly at Gladio's tone when he next spoke. It was pure venom. "You're welcome."

Pushing the man aside, he crushed the curative. The tantalizing pump of energy rushed up his arm and spread throughout his upper body. He could feel the slight tingle as the Potion mended his wound, skin rejuvenating and his strength and energy returning to him. He drew deep breaths to savor the feeling, eyes closed and head leaning back in a relaxed way. He stayed like that for a while even after the effects had evaporated.

It was the creak of leather that brought his chin down and piqued his curiosity. He had rather expected that already, anyway.

Gladiolus' leather jacket rubbed against skin tightly; the man had his arms crossed so tightly it looked like he'd have trouble breathing behind that cage of flesh. But the bodyguard didn't seem to mind. His mind was on one thing, one person, and one person only.

"You care to explain?" It was a hiss from behind clenched teeth, and it seemed that was the limit of his patience. One more word, and it would have snapped.

The prince snorted. "What's there left to explain?" He felt sorrier than he sounded, and he only hoped it carried over. He wasn't good with words. He wasn't good with this kind of stuff. He was good at acting, not at expressing.

"How 'bout you start with the why?! What the hell gave you the idea of sneaking down here on your own?!" Gladio's voice rose; his hands came down by his sides, twitching a little as if he had resisted the urge to punch him.

"I…" 'Dammit!' "I didn't wanna end up wasting time. I wanted to get it over with." He gasped as a rough hand pulled him up by his jacket collar.

"What is wrong with you?! I thought we agreed to wait for the morning. Why didn't you wake us?"

The prince seemed to waver under the scrutiny. Suddenly he felt insecure. Why had he gone alone? Why hadn't he said anything? The truth felt immature and idiotic already before it left his lips. "You wouldn't have agreed."

"Damn right! What the hell were you thinking? You could've–"

"Enough, Gladio." Ignis had gotten up. The tone like a frost blade seemed to cut through his rage, his voice, the very world. With a grunt, the shield let go. "That's right, Noct. We wouldn't have. No matter how you justify this, it was highly irresponsible and rash of you, and frankly, you can do better. You could have been hurt." He breathed a heavy exhale and shook his head. "Please remember your position, Noct. The royal armament are meaningless if there's no-one to wield them."

At those words, all the reasons, all the excuses he had on the tip of his tongue were gone. His heart like a pressure cooker, he felt his mouth open and close, but the words were gone. His voice lost to him, he had his eyes in the ground, embarrassed of the whole thing. "I'm… sorry." He had tried to help.

"Damn right you should be. You almost gave us a heart attack," Gladio grumbled, but the most intense rage of it was gone. It had dulled into something that stung deeper. The most prominent feeling Noct recognized in that tone was disappointment. "What did that, anyway?"

"Huh?" He glanced at the shield, motioning towards his arm with a look that made it clear he wanted the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. "Uh. It was a, uh… a gurangatch."

The bodyguard looked like he'd choke on his own temper. Unable to speak, the rest of it faded into a stifled hiss as he tore the hand through his hair.

"I had it under control."

"Oh, yeah? So, the Fulgurian just dropped by to say 'hi'?" The amber was again aflame with the frustrated fury.

"Tch!"

"Listen, 'hero'! In case you haven't figured it out yet, there's a war going on, and you have a part to play in it. Risking your life for glory isn't what this is about, Noct. It's high time for you to start thinking about others before yourself, like a real king would. You think you have the right to bear the power of your ancestors if you're not taking this seriously?"

Noctis was struck speechless. It was like Gladio's words were arrows and every single one found its mark. Guilt and embarrassment engulfed him like a high tide. He hadn't considered the consequences, he hadn't thought about the 'what ifs', not really. He had dismissed them, and for what?

So that he could protect them.

He had done this because he wanted to make sure they would get to safety as soon as possible once this was done. He hadn't wanted to put them into any greater risk they were already in, so he had risked himself. "You think I'm not?" It wasn't far from a growl. It was low, filled with determination. He wanted them to understand: if not why he had done what he had done, then at least that he meant business.

"You'd better be. Or you won't be worthy of the relic of your kin." Without another word, Gladio turned to stomp away from them. Noctis let out a frustrated breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. Ignis gave his shoulder a firm squeeze and nodded encouragingly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he sighed, shaking his head. "It's just that…" His voice faded into silence. Ignis understood, though.

"You gave us all quite the scare with that little ruse of yours, Noct. You'll have to excuse Gladio. He is just worried."

The prince honestly snorted. "Oh, that's what it is? Funny how it looks like bloody vengeance to me."

"It certainly seems that way, but it is understandable. Make no mistake, Noct: your stunt was by no means acceptable."

"You're mad, too?"

"Livid, as a matter of fact. But unlike him, I can keep mine under control." A self-satisfied smirk spread his lips. "I believe you, once again, acted in the best interest of doing what you think is right. But this was neither the time nor the place. On an unfamiliar territory and alone at night–"

"I get it already," Noct spat as he shook Ignis' hand off his shoulder and went to go after the shield. As he brushed past Prompto, he gave the blond a dirty glare. The gunslinger's serious expression didn't falter. In fact, it seemed to say "you had it coming".

"So, are we going then or what?" came Gladio's bark from the waterfront. He had sloshed ankle-deep into the water, peering around the swamp.

"Aren't we eager, suddenly," the prince sniped his remark as he waded further across the murky waters. Gladio gave him a scowl.

"Now that we're here, thanks to a certain someone, we might as well go through with this."

Noctis couldn't help his jaw clenching. "You're free to turn back if you'd rather." Then something caught his eye at the almost overgrown hillside: a cavern-like entrance way and behind it, shaded by the plantation and dirtied by the nature, the light marble doors of a royal tomb. Excitement fluttered in his chest as he sprinted, trusting the others to follow him. He smirked a little as he heard two sets of running steps splashing behind him.

But when they got closer, however, and as the light graced over what he had thought to be vegetation, he couldn't help a shiver running down his spine.

"What is this?"

"I hate eggs."

Prompto's voice shook a little. "Do we really wanna know what's back there?"

"What choice do we have? This's it." He went to step forward, but was interrupted by a blood-curdling screech.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay, more battle!**

* * *

 _Join in on a grand expedition_

 _A trip through my contradiction_

 _Complex, diverse I guarantee_

 _Your chance to be all you can be_

 _I'm letting my nature talk_

 _It's the only way I will walk_

 _Life roars when given room to breathe_

 _Let's break the laws of you and me_

 _. ._

 _Can you really tell me what is right or wrong_

 _When they're two sides of the same coin_

 _Viewed in different ways_

 _The Human Paradox_

 _Step right into pandemonium_

 _Welcome to my delirium_

 _My Human Paradox_

 _The Human Paradox_

. .

\- Dynazty - Human Paradox

* * *

Limbs, he saw. Limbs and filth. Tentacles, and reek.

He heard Prompto's panicked voice, but the words were lost under the thumping of blood in his ears. What now wobbled before them was an abomination. It was like all the childhood nightmares of monsters and boogeymen had gotten drunk together and had sex with a shrubbery, and this was the result. It looked like a tumbleweed with teeth, and he really didn't feel like taking on a roll with that thing!

It screeched a hair-raising cry that made shivers run down the prince's spine; he had backed away unconsciously until his arm touched something behind him. With a stifled gasp, it clicked. Eggs. Its eggs. With a new surge of adrenaline, the engine blade found its way back into his hand with less than a thought. "Prompto! Help Iggy!"

Ignis was hastily making his way across the swamp, his dagger already held up protectively across his torso at the sound of the creature, although he clearly had no clear idea of distance or direction. Prompto hesitated for less than a second before scurrying towards the strategist.

"Gladio!" He didn't need to say more. The older man had his blade out, crouching, prepared to jump at Noct's mark. Satisfied, he made his move.

In a swish of air, Noctis lunged himself to strike the creature's side across from Gladio. It let out a cry that was more irritated than injured as it wobbled its huge body to go after the insect that had the audacity to attack it. Doing so it offered its weak point for Gladio. Noctis smirked.

The massive weapon came down with the force of a power drill. The disturbing squelch echoed around the swamp as three tentacle limbs were severed, the dark green liquid gushing out like water from a fountain. The creature shook violently, and the cry had gained a piercing pitch. Now it was enraged. Not allowing it to recompose, Noctis dashed again, this time aiming for what he assumed to be its antennae. The blade met air as the creature withdrew its limbs to shake as if it was trying to rid itself of something.

"Noct! Behind you." Noctis glanced behind him just in time to dodge a swing. Rolling safely out of the way, he nodded the dark man a thank you.

Prompto clenched his teeth as he watched them go at it from a distance, standing protectively in front of Ignis, his finger loosely at the trigger but not aiming. If there would be an opening, he would take it but damn! This thing was… what the hell was this thing, anyway?!

"Prompto, what is it?" How Ignis managed to maintain his calm, the blond would never know. The tone was pure of any doubt, any fear. It was inquisitive, rational, ready. It was that of a squadron leader on a battlefield when he was devising the best strategy.

"It's giant and disgusting! Like something that a chocobo threw up, except bigger! And it moves!" He couldn't help his own voice squeaking. The other huffed.

"I need you to be a little bit more specific than that, Prompto."

"Well, uh, there's tentacles. And a mouth. Big enough to swallow Regalia. Not to mention us!" The hazelnut brunet hummed in understanding.

"Is it mostly green in color?"

"Yup. You know this thing?"

"Unfortunately, I believe it is a creature called malboro. A grown one is capable of wreaking considerable havoc. We should try and end this swiftly."

Prompto snorted, but it held no humor. "Well, they're working on it." As he said that, Gladio landed a heavy dive hit against the creature's side. "Ooh, nice one, dude!"

"This is no time to be joking around! A malboro is a sinister adversary. We should help them." He made a move to push past him, but was stopped as the blond stepped in front of him, guiding him to a halt.

Prompto shook his head, ignoring the afterthought that the other remained oblivious. "I dunno if that's a good idea, man…"

"Shut up!"

"Huh?!" Prompto knew he was gaping. Hell, Ignis probably knew he was gaping, but he couldn't help it. He had never heard Ignis sound so… crude.

"I'm well aware what you three think of my impairment, and heed my words, it is not my intention to be nor become a liability. I am still able to fight, to serve my duty, and right now, it is to protect Noct. So spare me your pity, Prompto, and tell me: which way is it facing?"

Prompto's lip quivered. His eyes were wide as he could just watch. The adviser had his head held high, face focused, his mind composed onto taking the beast down, swift and painful. "Iggy…" He hadn't meant to say it, the name just slipped out unguarded. The man's resilience was positively overwhelming. He had to swallow the lump that had crept up to his throat to fight some breath back into his lungs. "It, uh, it's at your one-o'clock, about thirty yards, facing four-o'clock. If that mouth side of it can be considered a face."

"Thank you." Ignis' stick disappeared under the murky surface with a hollow splosh; the man was already stomping in the given direction, the dagger dismissed, the healthy hand gripping his left shoulder firmly.

"Wait, what're you…?!" Prompto was cut off as the creature let out a piercing wailing sound and stood at full height. Its tentacles swished and its whole body swayed from side to side frantically, and as something emerged into his view, Prompto understood why.

Noctis saw his chance as the deadly swamp-shade had its attention on Gladio. The dark man was blocking a swing after swing as the tentacles hammered against his shield. He quickly called out his spear into his other hand, and, using his own body weight, plunged the engine blade deep into its rear limbs. Letting out an angry screech, it shook to crush the prince, and Noct was ready. The spear found its mark at what must have been the abomination's forehead, the point burying itself deep, and in a flash of blue, the prince stared down into non-existent eyes as he stood on its face, hanging from his spear while taking aim. The bullets, four, five, all six of them, were fired in rapid succession, dark green staining him as it spurt out from the freshest wounds.

It cried piercing howls as it tried to shake off the vermin. Its limbs thrashed violently but couldn't quite reach the lithe dark form. Noctis let his gun go, only to be replaced with the engine blade again, as he somersaulted down into a crouch. "Now!"

On cue, the heavy blade of Gladiolus' buried itself into the creature's side, ripping flesh and tearing through. Pieces of rotten vegetation and tissue littered the low waterbed. It thrashed, screeching, and out spewed puffs of ill-shade-of-green gases.

"There's no end to this," Gladio grunted.

"How is it still moving?! We're hitting it!"

"Dunno, but we're gonna be fertilizer if we won't come up with something!"

"Tryin' to!" Noctis reappeared a few feet from where a huge limb had been aiming to crush him.

"Guys!" Both men checked that the creature was preoccupied before turning to Prompto's voice. They were coming towards them, Ignis in the lead, Prompto reloading his rounds as his gazed traveled between all of them nervously.

"What the hell are you doing, Specs?!"

"Improvising!" came Ignis' resolved response. "I have an idea! Get behind me!"

"Stay back, Iggy! We're…!"

"No, you won't! A grown malboro's outer defense is nigh impregnable and able to withstand colossal damage. We cannot fight it like we would an ordinary opponent." He had a stern look on his face as he took a few steps closer, listening, waiting for it, knowing it would come. "If you don't mind, I suggest we fight it with finesse this time instead of force. I'll–"

Ignis was cut off as the creature let out a wet roar, and a thick cloud of that same green gas was spewed all around it. The reek of it could be felt instantly: like rotten fish and moldy, earthly smell of decay. Ignis' hiss was timid.

"Urgh!" Noctis gagged and fought to force down the bile that had risen into his mouth. The same reaction could be seen on the other's faces as well, and their breaths became pants as it replaced oxygen.

Ignis' voice was grave. "Listen, we have no time. If I'm not mistaken, it is already using its most vehement technique. It is fouling the air as we speak. The effects of prolonged exposure may be long-withstanding and disorientating."

"What do we do?" Gladio grunted. "You're still the strategist here."

"Exactly." Ignis took a step forward, motioning for the others to stay back as he felt their coming protests. Through his darkness, he listened. Listened for the ripples of the water, as they crept closer, focused his senses to distinguish a friend from a foe as he called forth the familiar feeling of warmth into his palm.

Many things happened at the same time. Through the evaporating veil of fumes, the creature dashed towards them, moving with surprising dexterity and speed for something of that size and shape. Its jaws were wide open as it lunged for the strategist. Ignis' palm burst aflame with the ethereal flame of the Firaga spell. And that's when Noctis understood that he wasn't the only reckless idiot in their party.

"Iggy...!"

"Gladio, wait!" Noctis moved instinctively to halt the warrior as he was about to intervene. The shield grunted as he grabbed the prince's arm to push him out of the way, but his instincts told him it was already too late. The creature was almost upon the man; no matter what he did, he wouldn't be able to stop it anymore.

That's when the man flung the ball of flame straight into the beast's open mouth.

The magic burst like a makeshift Molotov. The heat wave crashed against the men, throwing Ignis off balance, and he fell ungracefully; he cried a yelp as white-hot agony stung his shoulder. The creature wailed and writhed, trying to wriggle away as the ethereal flames torched it from the inside.

"Ignis...!"

"Don't - ah! - worry about me! Now is our chance!" he spat as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. Noctis bit his teeth, a jab of guilt stinging his chest, but it didn't change the fact that Ignis was right. He called out his heavy blade; this was going to end, and this was going to end now!

"Let's go, fellas!"

"Right!"

The creature stumbled around blindly, preoccupied by the damage of the fire magic. Dark murk pooled from its mouth as it gathered from the wounds in its scorched core. Prompto was the first to strike. Seeing his opening, the carefully placed bullet impaled the creature's already injured jaw muscles; he let out a snorty little laugh of satisfaction.

Gladiolus rolled his eyes at the blond. "Good going, kiddo. Just don't get cocky!" As if to demonstrate he flung himself to strike downwards in an arc; the malboro, increasingly interested in its prey again, shrieked a furious roar as it tried to crush him, but the dark man had moved out of its reach already.

Noctis had used their efforts to seek a vantage point. Hanging from his engine blade about 25 feet from the ground, the young man waited. "C'mon," he muttered to himself. "C'mon..." He was granted what he was waiting for as the malboro again withdrew to wiggle and shake out a new spill of what could only be described as environmental toxins. He sprung himself into an aerial somersault, and flung his blade across with added momentum. The familiar rush of air whooshed around his senses, and he landed onto the sword to bury it halfway into the creature's side. As the new pain kept it busy, Noctis tore the blade out upwards, severing a chunk of flesh that was left hanging pitifully by a few tendons.

"Haha, Noct rules!" Prompto laughed and waved him a cheer.

"Shut up and focus!" Gladio barked. "It's not dead yet."

Indeed. To their horror, the calamity was still coming after them. Ignis' attack had visibly weakened it, its movement was slower and far less precise than it had been, but other than that, it showed barely any sign of going down. It lunged at them with animalistic bloodlust, and didn't seem to even care it was bleeding profusely!

"Just what the hell is this thing?!" Noctis grumbled under his breath as he again jumped to dodge a swing at him.

"I'm not sure I want to find out," Prompto spat back as he kept blasting it. Or would have, if his gun hadn't chosen that exact moment to strike a mutiny.

"Huh?! Jammed?! You've gotta be kiddin' me!" His spur-of-the-moment exclamation managed little but to attract the adversary's attention. The blond felt his heart stop and air left him as he watched in stupefied horror how the open jaws came at him, saliva glistening on the small spikes as he was about to be gobbled.

"Prompto! Look out!"

Noctis heard the gruff voice of Gladio's when it was already too late. The beast was rushing for his friend, who was apparently frozen in fear. Prompto's face was white as a sheet and he trembled. Something ticked inside him. That was it! Instincts took over; Noctis felt his blood heating up at the surge of new energy unleashed.

"You're done for," he muttered venomously.

With a crystalline jingle, the power of his ancestors materialized around him in luminous armaments. Noctis could feel their valor as, for the fleeting moment, he was one with the old Kings and Queens of Lucis, their blood coursing through his veins in unison with his own as the full force of the Armiger dove down to shred the vile creature, tearing, slicing, piercing it. Ripping it apart.

"Noct…?" Prompto's voice was so small he practically just formulated the word with his mouth. His legs had given out on him; he was on his knees in the water but didn't feel the coldness. His paled lip quivered a little as he watched, eyes wide, the rapid flashes of blue light hurling at, into and through the monster that had almost killed him. He had never seen him fight like this, with such bloodlust. It was like he was possessed. Even from afar, and even though it was for mere glimpses, Prompto could make out the intense red hue of his friend's eyes. This time it was tinted with crimson.

The beast cried out and wriggled helplessly under the onslaught. Limbs were severed, the land stained with its foul blood as it was ripped into shreds, until it was with the final flash of blue that Noctis dove upon it with the war axe, cleaving it in half.

The world seemed to stand still for a moment; no-one dared to move, not even breathe as the wet rattles echoed hollowly around the swampland. Only after the remains of the beast had collapsed around him did Noctis dismiss the weapon.

The silence seemed dream-like. The only sounds were their exhausted pants, huffs, ripples of water under their shaking legs. The moment was fleeting but seemed to last forever, until…

"Dude. That was… hardcore!" Prompto cheered, coming out of his stupor and throwing him a high-five. "And thanks, by the way. I thought I was a goner." The other simply shrugged.

"Took me all I had," he chuckled, stretching a little.

"Hey, don't forget who provided us a chance at victory," Gladio's scornful voice sniped. He motioned towards the adviser, who was standing precariously, clutching his wound. He forced a smirk, although it was distorted by pain.

"Oh yeah! That was awesome, Iggy! Whew! We'd all be plant-food if it weren't for you."

"Happy to help." The self-satisfied smirk was back in place.

"And you keep telling me I'm reckless," Noctis smirked, crossing his arms.

"I guess I have spent too much time with a – uh! – a certain someone with quite the tendency to get himself into trouble," Ignis smirked in between pants.

"Hey, I'm not suicidal," he chuckled lightly.

"Says you," Gladiolus sniped, his glare heated. Noctis' jaw tightened, the light mood gone.

"I know what I'm doing."

"You don't know shit. You've just proven it tonight," the tone was unrelenting. "We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for you."

"Look who's a broken record," Noctis snorted.

Prompto rolled his eyes. "Guys, maybe you two should cool it for now? Let's just go get that swordy or whatevs and scram…" he tried to console. He was ignored.

"I owe you nothing," Noctis stressed the last word, glaring daggers.

"Well, maybe you should be just a little more appreciative of what people go through for you," Gladio crossed his arms.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Noct snorted.

"You know full well," he almost spat.

"If this's about Specs…!"

"Then it should be my concern!" the heated tone of Ignis cut him off. All heads turned to the strategist. He was standing almost sideways to them, still holding his arm. If the harsh tone hadn't been enough, ultimately the look on his face stunned them.

Ignis took his time, seemingly choosing his words. "I've had enough of this pointless bicker, and I refuse to be treated like a fragile piece of bric-a-brac any longer. Tiptoeing around what happened isn't going to change that."

Ignis had caught them red-handed; the others looked bothered, guilty, embarrassed. With a deep sigh, he went on, "Let's be frank. This injury is merely temporary. The Antidote has done enough to salvage the arm. But my vision hasn't improved, and probably won't." His tone told them enough. It told them Ignis had accepted it. Now they would have to, too.

"Yet in spite of this, I would remain with you all. 'Til the very end."

Gladio huffed, a sound mixed with irritation and embarrassment. "Sorry, but I object. War is a matter of life and death." His tone spoke the words his lips didn't: Ignis was going to end up in a body bag.

"But we'll be there!" Prompto cut in, challenge shining in the blue eyes as he stepped up to face the bodyguard.

"It's not about us looking out for him!"

"Uh-huh? Well, then he should be free to choose." It was his life. Prompto understood that, probably better than anyone.

"There's more to it than just what he wants," Gladio spat out the last word like it was something disgusting.

"I know full well!" Ignis barked. "I've told you all before, I refuse to become a hindrance. If I can't keep up, I will bow out. I'm not expecting you to adjust to my pace. I'm not expecting to be treated differently." He held a small pause, as if to find the right words. "And I refuse to abandon my duty on Noct's side."

Noctis' heart skipped a beat. He heard his breath hitching a little at those words, and the iron band around his chest was crushing him. He almost missed Gladio's snort,

"What says 'His Majesty?'" It was a poisonous tone, making it clear the shield wouldn't be satisfied with but one answer. An answer Noctis wasn't sure was his to give.

Ignis sighed. "Noct, I told you before, a king has to make decisions, and then he must live with the consequences and never look back." Then he turned his attention. "Gladio. Noct will take his rightful place, but only once he's ready. Give him time." His tone seemed to say 'and that's final'. For a moment, the shield looked like he was about to protest, but, as it dawned to him that he was alone with his stance, he shook his head defeatedly.

His tone dripped condemn. "Have it your way. We're still taking a big risk. We better all be ready." Noctis hadn't liked the stress the older man put on that word. He liked it even less when the shield fixed him with a meaningful glare before turning to stomp away, shaking his head as he went. Despite the sourness of it, a fraction of him wanted to go after the man. It was only a fraction, though, and that fraction was greatly overpowered by remorse and spite, which held onto his heart much tighter.

Ignis heard the furthering steps and had to bite the inside of his cheek. He had had his concerns, that Gladio would react this way, but he hadn't expected it to sting so much. He refused to feel guilty, though, nor agreeing to his views. Instead he forced the facade back to his tone as he suggested,

"Now, about that tomb…"

"Right." Noct's reply was absentminded, and Ignis' brows furrowed. They had a long road ahead of them, and frankly, the strategist wasn't sure what they would find at the other end. The only thing certain to him, though, was that he would walk it with them, make that distance for as long as he lived. And if not, then... Well, it wouldn't matter at that point.

They cut down the growth – the eggs and the vegetation – and pushed through the thick outgrown heap until the door glimmered under their lights. Gladio didn't return to help them, but no-one had really expected him to, anyway. The dark man was taking a moment at the other side of the swamp lake, within eyesight but clearly keeping his distance.

It looked almost innocent, Noctis thought, as his eyes went over the light marble appreciatively. Looking at it spoke nothing of the toil and trouble it had taken to finally reach it. He couldn't help but wonder if the past three days had been worth this. Was a royal arm... worth their cracking friendship? And did it make a difference either way?

Behind him, Ignis coughed a little. "After you, Noct."

"Yeah, yeah..."

He remembered Ignis' words by the fire; they pushed his doubts aside. The key made a small metallic chink as it turned in the intricate keyhole. With a low scraping sound, they pushed the door open and, Noct in the lead, stepped into the dim rest of the ancestor.

* * *

 **It's over. It's done. *insert Frodo meme here* Thank you so much Elillierose for beta reading and advice, and also I want to thank you all who read through and left comments!  
**

 **When I had completed the draft of this, I was a couch potato for the rest of the day. Just dazed. When I get into the zone over a longer writing project, that zone stays with me for weeks, until I finish what I've started. I'm pretty relieved it's done now, and it turned out exactly the way I wanted. Yeeah, it is pretty Noct ex machina, but that's intentional. He is the main character after all. Plus he can do all these cool things. Summon ethereal weapons. Call forth gods. Friggin' gods! How cool is that?!**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked it. If you have a prompt you'd like me to write, send me a PM. Or feel free to give me a holler about whatever. Cheers!  
**


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